How Much You Need To Be Middle Class in These 14 East Coast States

Each of the states along the East Coast glisten with their own unique charm. They beam with economic opportunities, gorgeous scenery and more. Despite their vast differences, the states have one thing in common: middle class earners need more to live there than in many other states.

GOBankingRates set out to find how much money you need to be considered middle class on the East Coast by using data from the 2022 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Read on to see how much you need to lead a middle-class life in these 14 East Coast states, which are listed from most to least expensive.

• Median household income: $98,461 
• Lowest end of middle class income: $65,634
• Highest end of middle class income: $196,922

• Median household income: $97,126
• Lowest end of middle class income: $64,744
• Highest end of middle class income: $194,252

• Median household income: $96,505
• Lowest end of middle class income: $64,330
• Highest end of middle class income: $193,010

• Median household income: $90,845
• Lowest end of middle class income: $60,557
• Highest end of middle class income: $181,690

• Median household income: $90,213
• Lowest end of middle class income: $60,136
• Highest end of middle class income: $180,426

• Median household income: $87,249
• Lowest end of middle class income: $58,160
• Highest end of middle class income: $174,498

• Median household income: $81,386
• Lowest end of middle class income: $54,252
• Highest end of middle class income: $162,772

• Median household income: $81,370
• Lowest end of middle class income: $54,241
• Highest end of middle class income: $162,740

• Median household income: $79,325
• Lowest end of middle class income: $52,878
• Highest end of middle class income: $158,650

• Median household income: $71,355
• Lowest end of middle class income: $47,565
• Highest end of middle class income: $142,710

• Median household income: $68,251
• Lowest end of middle class income: $45,496
• Highest end of middle class income: $136,502

• Median household income: $67,917
• Lowest end of middle class income: $45,273
• Highest end of middle class income: $135,834

• Median household income: $66,186
• Lowest end of middle class income: $44,120
• Highest end of middle class income: $132,372

• Median household income: $63,623
• Lowest end of middle class income: $42,411
• Highest end of middle class income: $127,246

Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates used the 2022 American Community Survey as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau to isolate the median household income of all East Coast states (CT, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, RI, SC and VA). Once those figures were found, GOBankingRates was able to determine middle-class income of the state under the definition that middle-class income is two thirds to double the income of a given area. All data was collected and is up to date as of May 6, 2024.