How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Every US Region
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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The median household income in the U.S. in 2025 is $78,770. So, that means that if you make $78,770, you’re middle class, right? Probably, but it depends on where you live — and you might actually be on the lower end of middle class. Median incomes vary by city, state and, even more broadly, region. Many factors come into play including local wages and job market, housing demand, taxes and more.
So, what’s considered middle class in the Northeast? The Midwest? The West? The East? The South? The numbers are different in each place. Let’s look at what new research from GOBankingRates revealed.
The Northeast
- States that make up this region: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont
- Median household income: $87,623
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $58,415
- Highest end of middle-class income: $175,246
The West
- States that make up this region: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming
- Median household income: $82,886
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $55,257
- Highest end of middle-class income: $165,772
The Midwest
- States that make up this region: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin
- Median household income: $74,489
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $49,659
- Highest end of middle-class income: $148,978
The South
- States that make up this region: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia
- Median household income: $72,231
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $48,154
- Highest end of middle-class income: $144,462
Methodology: For this piece, we found every state’s median household income as sourced from the 2023 American community Survey as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Then by following the Pew Research Center’s definition of middle-class income, “two-thirds to double the income of an area” we found the middle-class income for every state. To determine the middle-class incomes of U.S. regions, GOBankingRates took the averages of the states in each region as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. All data was collected and is up to date as of June 10, 2025.
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