Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I see people say all the time, "We are solidly middle class." What does that mean? The median family income in this area is $69,800. Would that be the middle class? Or is it determined by factors other than simple income? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I don't know if there is an actual definition of it, but to me, "middle class" means living comfortably, but still needing to have a steady income to get by. "Upper class" would be independently wealthy, I think. Not sure about "lower class", as I don't really hear that term often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Academy of Jedi Arts Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Around here you could get a starter home for 100,000. So I would say middle class where I live is anywhere from 30-100k per year income. I think from 100-250k you are well off, and anything over that I would consider wealthy. However in some areas 200,000 is still middle class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 If you are talking about my post, we make less than than your median income and our area's median income and we have a family of six. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I see people say all the time, "We are solidly middle class." What does that mean? The median family income in this area is $69,800. Would that be the middle class? Or is it determined by factors other than simple income? I think it is much more complex than it used to be. Here is a good site with a lot of info. In my area of the country, upstate NY, that income would qualify as middle class. In an area with a higher cost of living it may not and in an area with a very low cost of living it may be considered upper-middle. Location is everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 If you are talking about my post, we make less than than your median income and our area's median income and we have a family of six. I wasn't talking about any particular post - I see/hear it all the time. I just wonder what it means. We aren't anywhere near that income (family of 8), but that would make us comfortable I would think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I don't know, but I would like to be it! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Nobody wants to think of themselves as lower class, or even poor. I think there is "economically challenged" then "dirt poor." I think there are other factors besides income: assets, cost of living, debt, credit rating, unavoidable expenses, generous friends and relatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 Poverty level for a family of 2 is $14,000 and for a family of 8 it is $35,600. Would that be the underclass? Or is it a mix between underclass and working poor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I've always felt we were middle class, comfortable, not wanting. However, for most of our married lives our income has been below the median for our area based on our family size (7 people). Just recently has our income been near the median for our area, and also for the first time I'm feeling really stretched trying to make ends meet. We're very careful with our budget and frugal, still it's taking more and more just to live. Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagnfun Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Around here you could get a starter home for 100,000. So I would say middle class where I live is anywhere from 30-100k per year income. I think from 100-250k you are well off, and anything over that I would consider wealthy. However in some areas 200,000 is still middle class. WOW.... Really WOW... Here a starter home is over 300 EASY and I'd bet a middle class home is 500-700. A home for only 200 would be a dirt cheap thrashed fixr upper OR in a bad area. Location location location ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 WOW.... Really WOW... Here a starter home is over 300 EASY and I'd bet a middle class home is 500-700. A home for only 200 would be a dirt cheap thrashed fixr upper OR in a bad area. Location location location ..... Pretty much the same here (DC area) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I think it really depends on where you live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommylawyer Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 :iagree: If you want to know what middle class is for your area, do an internet search. (I could put a suggestion or two here, but I'm a bit on the lazy side of posting this morning.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 :iagree: If you want to know what middle class is for your area, do an internet search. (I could put a suggestion or two here, but I'm a bit on the lazy side of posting this morning.) All I can find are median incomes and information about poverty. The wiki article made it seem like middle class is really in the eye of the beholder. I am not looking for a specific number per se, but rather what does it mean? What is the "middle class lifestyle" that several sites talk about? I read somewhere once that most people think they are middle class, regardless of where they actually fall in the bell curve. I wonder if that is true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 My new definition of middle class is not qualifying for any government programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 My new definition of middle class is not qualifying for any government programs. :lol: That's a start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 In this country, it is not as clear as some others. But I would like to give you a few examples- when kids go to college, most are very low income but yet their interests and behaviors have not changed. The same thing when a low income person wins the lottery. They will suddenly have a lot of wealth but their habits and interests remain largely the same, at least at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 In this country, it is not as clear as some others. But I would like to give you a few examples- when kids go to college, most are very low income but yet their interests and behaviors have not changed. The same thing when a low income person wins the lottery. They will suddenly have a lot of wealth but their habits and interests remain largely the same, at least at first. That's a very good point. So, if someone was not BORN middle class, how would they become middle class (as you are defining it)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Or is it determined by factors other than simple income? What about net worth? Some people have a great deal of income but no real wealth, only debt. Other people have minimal incomes but live comfortably in a home they own. It seems to me that net worth has to be included in the equation to determine who is truly wealthy. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 .../ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Academy of Jedi Arts Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 WOW.... Really WOW... Here a starter home is over 300 EASY and I'd bet a middle class home is 500-700. A home for only 200 would be a dirt cheap thrashed fixr upper OR in a bad area. Location location location ..... Before you get the idea that the grass is greener- I live in suburban hell. Most of the neighborhoods have no sidewalks, and just about every business is in a strip mall. I have to drive at least 30 minutes to see movies that are less mainstream. As for switching classes- my family was a lot more well off growing up than my husband and I are now. When I stopped working I had to get used to a more middle class lifestyle. But this has not made me any less happy. My dd is well provided for, and that is the most important thing to me right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Or is it determined by factors other than simple income? I'd cast a vote for middle class being mostly a mindset. I recommend reading Ruby Payne on the subject. She deals with class issues in a way that most Americans generally avoid: bluntly and directly. Many families live lifestyles that shout middle class but, to maintain that appearance, they are in enough debt to last for the rest of their lives. I'm pretty sure I know at least two families that will describe themselves as, "solidly middle class," as a euphemism for, "up to my eyeballs in debt in order to keep up with the joneses." I don't mean any offense by this. In terms of income level, it is, as I believe others in this thread have said, entirely dependent upon the region you live in. For a non-regional guide, I would say that a middle class family, economically, is able to save money for retirement and college, has health and life insurance, owns a home and has (or is able to have) two cars. I'm glad you posted this thread because after reading the thread about Blueridge's daughter, I was feeling really guilty for living below my mother's standard and making her worry so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 That's a very good point. So, if someone was not BORN middle class, how would they become middle class (as you are defining it)? Ooh, oh, me, I know! :D You would read this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Before you get the idea that the grass is greener- I live in suburban hell. I agree with Academy of Jedi Arts. My grandparents and great-grandparents were well off, but my mother's mother was the bad egg who ended up dirt poor, so when Mom and Dad married, they settled into a middle class lifestyle. I grew up being aware of how both worlds work. Then I went and got all bohemian, objected to college on political grounds, decided to live off grid, homeschooling barefoot kids with an artist partner . . . so I am now poor whether I want to be or not, excepting certain provisions Grandma made for her granchildren. I've seen all three worlds, and I like poverty the best. Really. It has some serious disadvantages, but once I got it into my head that it's still possible to do good work for the world (the main advantage, to my mind, of being well off), I settled in here happily. I've come to see it as being close to the cycles of nature. With so much financial protection between you and your vulnerabilities . . . it's kind of like living out your whole life in a spacesuit. My family thinks I'm this generation's bad egg. I'm pretty sure I put my mother through what Blueridge's daughter put her through. But . . . but it's not that bad. It's just different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 Ooh, oh, me, I know! :D You would read this book. I read the intro on Amazon and I want to read that book!:D I'll have to see if my library has it (and wait to pay my fines....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*anj* Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I see people say all the time, "We are solidly middle class." What does that mean? The median family income in this area is $69,800. Would that be the middle class? Or is it determined by factors other than simple income? This reminds me of the thread we had a few months ago comparing annual income. I think that the answer to your question is relative to the area in which a person lives. In this area, the median income that you mentioned above would be below middle class. You would have difficulty supporting a family here on that salary. The median family income in my town is $86,531. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 This reminds me of the thread we had a few months ago comparing annual income. I think that the answer to your question is relative to the area in which a person lives. In this area, the median income that you mentioned above would be below middle class. You would have difficulty supporting a family here on that salary. The median family income in my town is $86,531. This number is a HUD number for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill statistical area. When I looked it up for just the town where my new house is located, it was $88,200. I think the difference is because of the three cities listed, Chapel Hill is more expensive. It is relative, but did you realize that poverty level doesn't change from location to location? So, if a family of 4 lives in NYC or DC or So. CA, the poverty level is the same as for a family of 4 that lives somewhere in the Midwest or the rural South. That seems CRAZY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*anj* Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 This number is a HUD number for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill statistical area. When I looked it up for just the town where my new house is located, it was $88,200. I think the difference is because of the three cities listed, Chapel Hill is more expensive. It is relative, but did you realize that poverty level doesn't change from location to location? So, if a family of 4 lives in NYC or DC or So. CA, the poverty level is the same as for a family of 4 that lives somewhere in the Midwest or the rural South. That seems CRAZY! Very interesting. No, I hadn't realized that. It seems crazy to me too, especially considering that you can rent a whole house in the Dallas area for $700/month and the same house would cost close to $2,000/month in my area. Crazy, crazy. I only looked up our town's median on one site. I'll have to try looking on others later today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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