OECD defines the "middle class" of a society on the basis of median income. Those who earn between 75 and 200 percent of the median income belong to the middle class.
The median income is also used in the social and economic sciences to make poverty calculations. The question of higher salaries in many industries is more topical than ever in view of inflation and the sometimes significant increase in prices, not least for food. "The middle class in Germany is crumbling," said an article by the Bertelsmann Stiftung in 2021.