How Much Middle-Class Families Earn in Every State

What is considered middle class? It takes more money than you might think to reach this income tier, and it differs depending upon which state you live in. Pew Research Center defines middle-class or middle-income households as those with incomes that are two-thirds (66.6%) to double (200%) the U.S. median household income of $70,784. According to this formula, Pew determined that middle-class Americans have incomes ranging from approximately $37,638 to $379,038, depending on the size of the household.

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Using these criteria, GOBankingRates analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey to determine how much a two-, three- and four-person middle-class family earns in every state. Find out if you live in one of the best or worst states for the middle class.

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $41,941 to $125,836
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $47,783 to $143,364
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $58,424 to $175,290

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $55,506 to $166,536
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $69,766 to $209,318
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $74,721 to $224,184

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• 2-person family middle-class income range: $49,530 to $148,606
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $55,668 to $167,020
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $64,278 to $192,852

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $39,399 to $118,210
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $45,967 to $137,914
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $53,104 to $159,328

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $57,508 to $172,542
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $64,674 to $194,042
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $75,736 to $227,230

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $60,711 to $182,152
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $70,252 to $210,776
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $82,796 to $248,412

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $62,115 to $186,364
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $75,273 to $225,842
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $88,011 to $264,060

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $51,336 to $154,022
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $63,942 to $191,844
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $75,860 to $227,602

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $45,754 to $137,276
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $51,473 to $154,434
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $62,014 to $186,062

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $47,638 to $142,928
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $54,155 to $162,482
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $63,966 to $191,918

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $47,638 to $142,928
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $54,155 to $162,482
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $63,966 to $191,918

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $47,969 to $143,920
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $54,289 to $162,884
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $60,000 to $180,018

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $52,396 to $157,204
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $62,925 to $188,794
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $75,478 to $226,456

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $46,768 to $140,318
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $55,425 to $166,292
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $63,328 to $190,004

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $50,210 to $150,646
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $59,091 to $177,290
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $71,176 to $213,550

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $49,224 to $147,686
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $54,481 to $163,460
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $69,838 to $209,534

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $41,293 to $123,890
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $46,723 to $140,182
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $58,595 to $175,804

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $39,971 to $119,926
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $45,299 to $135,910
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $56,392 to $169,192

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $48,768 to $146,318
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $58,962 to $176,904
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $73,523 to $220,590

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $63,624 to $190,890
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $75,537 to $226,634
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $93,577 to $280,758

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $62,051to $186,172
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $78,491 to $235,498
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $100,248 to $300,774

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $46,521 to $139,578
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $57,939 to $173,834
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $68,884 to $206,672

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $56,132 to $168,414
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $70,526 to $211,600
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $87,226 to $261,704

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $37,638 to $112,924
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $43,791 to $131,386
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $53,433 to $160,316

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $46,461 to $139,398
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $55,249 to $165,764
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $67,462 to $202,406

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $48,063 to $144,204
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $51,857 to $155,586
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $67,546 to $202,658

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $51,715 to $155,162
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $61,625 to $184,894
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $71,145 to $213,456

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $46,897 to $140,706
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $53,461 to $160,400
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $59,221 to $177,680

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $60,639 to $181,936
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $84,487 to $253,486
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $93,535 to $280,634

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $61,138 to $183,432
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $75,632 to $226,920
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $95,982 to $287,974

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $42,716 to $128,160
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $43,996 to $132,002
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $50,679 to $152,052

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $52,437 to $157,326
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $63,846 to $191,558
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $77,871 to $233,636

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $46,197 to $138,606
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $53,925 to $161,790
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $66,120 to $198,380

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $55,579 to $166,754
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $57,548 to $172,662
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $76,712 to $230,160

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $46,989 to $140,980
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $56,112 to $168,352
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $67,931 to $203,814

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $42,700 to $128,112
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $47,627 to $142,896
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $55,575 to $166,742

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $52,103 to $156,326
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $62,948 to $188,864
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $73,135 to $219,426

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $49,574 to $148,738
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $62,268 to $186,824
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $75,350 to $226,074

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $55,670 to $167,026
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $67,593 to $202,798
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $80,313 to $240,962

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $44,696 to $134,100
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $50,682 to $152,060
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $62,096 to $186,308

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $50,635 to $151,920
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $57,273 to $171,836
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $64,424 to $193,290

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $44,333 to $133,012
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $52,471 to $157,430
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $59,126 to $177,396

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $47,902 to $143,720
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $53,838 to $161,530
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $62,802 to $188,426

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $50,549 to $151,662
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $63,536 to $190,626
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $68,550 to $205,670

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $53,323 to $159,984
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $64,043 to $192,148
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $117,173 to $234,346

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $57,603 to $172,826
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $68,520 to $205,582
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $82,861 to $248,608

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $59,801 to $179,422
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $71,809 to $215,448
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $85,475 to $256,450

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $38,868 to $116,616
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $50,589 to $151,782
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $55,708 to $167,140

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $50,521 to $151,578
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $61,265 to $183,812
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $73,103 to $219,330

• 2-person family middle-class income range: $50,939 to $152,832
• 3-person family middle-class income range: $57,802 to $173,424
• 4-person family middle-class income range: $64,490 to $193,490

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Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: GOBankingRates found how much the middle class earns in every state by analyzing the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey 1-year data to determine how much a two-, three- and four-person middle-class family earns. Pew Research Center defines the middle class as making two-thirds (66.66%) to double (200%) the national median income. For this study, GOBankingRates assumed that a middle-class family earns two-thirds to double the median income for a family of its size in its state. In order to find out how much a middle-class family is earning, GOBankingRates multiplied each median income by 0.67 for the lower limit and by 2 for the upper limit. All data was collected on and up to date as of October 25, 2022.