What Will the Middle Class Look Like in 2050?
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Gary Dudak
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
The middle class has been steadily shrinking. While middle-income earners comprised 61% of the American population in 1971, by 2021, that percentage had shrunk to 50%, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Additionally, while the median income for the middle class has risen 50% over the past 30 years, it has not increased as much as the median income for upper-income earners, whose median income has risen 60%.
As we look ahead to the next 30 years, here are some predictions for what the middle class might look like.
About Half of Americans Believe the Middle Class Will Decrease
A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found that 46% of Americans believe that the middle class will decrease by 2050, while 28% say it will grow larger and about the same percentage (26%) say it will not change.
White Americans were the most likely to believe that the middle class will shrink in the next 30 years, with 50% predicting that it will decrease. Black Americans were the least likely to predict a shrinking middle class, with only 34% believing it will decrease by 2050.
Additionally, high-income earners are more likely to predict a shrinking middle class than lower-income earners — 51% of households earning above $75,000 believe the middle class will decrease by 2050, while just 40% of households earning less than $30,000 feel this way.
The survey also found that many Americans believe that income equality will be greater by 2050 — 62% of all adults believe that the lower class will increase by 2050.
44% Believe the Standard of Living Will Be Worse for the Middle Class in 2050
Many Americans are pessimistic about the quality of life that will be available to the middle class in 2050. More than 4 in 10 Americans (44%) predict that the average family’s standard of living will get worse over the next 30 years. Only 20% believe that it will get better, while 35% believe that it will stay about the same.
Americans ages 50 to 64 were most likely to have a pessimistic view, with 49% believing that the average family’s standard of living will be worse by 2050. Women (47%) and white Americans (47%) were also more likely to believe that life will get worse for a middle-class family over the next three decades.
More From GOBankingRates
