10 Cities Where You Can Be Middle Class If You Make Under $33K

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It’s getting harder and harder to be considered middle class in America as costs of living rise and wages generally fail to keep up. In some cities, like Fremont, California, not even a $100,000 salary cracks middle class status. But in some cities, the threshold is far more forgiving, and you can manage a middle-class life making far less than the latest national median salary ($66,622). And you needn’t live in the middle of nowhere, either. 

GOBankingRates looked at the 50 biggest (in terms of total households) where you can still be considered middle class while making under $40,000. These are the 10 cities where you can qualify as middle class when making even less — between $30,000 and $33,000.

10. Akron, Ohio 

• Median household income: $48,544 
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $32,363
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $97,088 

9. Shreveport, Louisiana

• Median household income: $48,465 
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $32,310 
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $96,930  

8. Newark, New Jersey 

• Median household income: $48,416
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $32,277
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $96,832  

7. Buffalo, New York 

• Median household income: $48,050
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $32,033 
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $96,100

6. Toledo, Ohio 

• Median household income: $47,532
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $31,688   
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $95,064

5. Rochester, New York 

• Median household income: $46,628
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $31,085
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $93,256

4. Springfield, Missouri 

• Median household income: $45,984
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $30,656   
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $91,968

3. Syracuse, New York 

• Median household income: $45,845  
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $30,563   
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $91,690

2. Gainesville, Florida 

• Median household income: $45,611  
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $30,407 
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $91,222  

1. Hartford, Connecticut 

• Median household income: $45,300
• Lowest end of the middle-class spectrum: $30,200
• Highest end of the middle-class spectrum: $90,600 

Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates looked at the 50 biggest (in terms of total households) where one can still be considered middle class while making under $40K. This means that since middle-class income is generally defined as two-thirds to double the income of a given area, to be considered the city’s median household income had to be $45,000 or below. GOBankingRates decided to take a look at the 50 largest cities that fit this criteria. All income data was sourced from the 2023 American Community Survey and is up to date as of June 11, 2025.

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