Do you belong to the middle class? These are the income you should receive, according to the city where you live

By Kamaron McNair -

The middle class has been shrinking over the past five decades as more people in the United States enter the upper or lower income brackets, according to the Pew Research Center. 

The latest data from 2021 shows that

, more or less where it has been since 2011. Prior to that year, the proportion of citizens in the middle class was decreasing from the peak of 61%. reached in 1971.

The Pew Research Center defines the

middle class” as that group earning between two-thirds and twice the median US household income, which in 2021 was $70,784, according to the US Census Bureau.

That means that US households

But other factors, such as family size and location, can change the concept.

The latest data for 2021 shows that the percentage of the population in the middle class continues to hover around 50%. Laura Olivas / Getty Images

These are the income thresholds you must earn to be considered middle class in the 20 most populous metropolises in the United States:

• New York, Newark and Jersey City:

  $56,000 to $169,000.

• Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim:

  $55,000 to $165,000.

• Chicago:

  $52,000 to $156,000.

• Dallas:

  $51,000 to $152,000.

• Houston:

  $47,000 to $142,000.

• Washington, Arlington and Alexandria:

  7$4,000 to $221,000.

• Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington:

  $53,000 to $160,000.

• Miami, Ft ​​Lauderdale, West Palm Beach:

  $43,000 to $128,000.

• Atlanta:

  $52,000 to $155,000.

• Boston, Cambridge and Newton:

  $67,000 to $202,000.

• Phoenix, Mesa and Chandler: $

  50,000 to $151,000.

• San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley:

  $77,000 to $232,000.

• Riverside, San Bernardino and Ontario:

  $51,000 to $154,000.

• Detroit:

  $45,000 to $134,000.

• Seattle

  : $68,000 to $203,000.

• Minneapolis:

  $58,000 to $175,000.

• San Diego:

  $61,000 to $182,000.

• Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater:

  $42,000 to $126,000.

• Denver:

  $60,000 to $181,000.

• Baltimore:

  $58,000 to $173,000.

It must be remembered that this is determined under a single concept of middle class.

There are other classifications based on statistics and an even longer list of anecdotal definitions.

Generally speaking, anyone who doesn't live “paycheck to paycheck,” but who can't necessarily stop working tomorrow and have long-term financial security, could be considered middle class.

[Inflation drops one tenth in December to 6.5% and feeds the hope that the economy can avoid a recession]

According to a Gallup poll, at least half of the adult population in the United States has consistently identified themselves as middle or upper-middle class since 2002. The poll does not define middle class for respondents, it only asks whether they identify as upper class , medium-high, medium, working or low.

For these reasons this year your tax refund could be substantially less

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Although the proportion of adults who consider themselves upper-middle and middle class was higher—around 63% in 2003—before the Great Recession, it never fell below 50% and did not during the brief (but sharp) recession. caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of April 2022, 52% of adults considered themselves to be middle or upper-middle class.

And statistically speaking, all of them could be right.

But given different life situations and perceptions of wealth, it's highly likely that not everyone who feels middle class really is, and vice versa.