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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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The amount of money one must earn annually to be considered middle class differs state by state.
According to Visual Capitalist, which analyzed data from SmartAsset, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Pew Research Center, Americans in Massachusetts need the highest annual incomes to be considered middle class, while those in Mississippi need to earn the lowest to fall into this bracket.
The American middle class is a broad socioeconomic group that sits between the wealthy elite and the working poor, typically defined by income level, education, and lifestyle.
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In monetary terms, the middle class is generally defined as households with incomes between two-thirds and double the national median household income—which is currently $77,719, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Why It Matters
The economy, the cost of living and other related themes like incomes are important to American voters, with a Gallup poll showing that they overwhelmingly cited economic pressures as the main reason they voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Incomes can determine where people choose to live and affect people's housing and other standard-of-living indicators.
What To Know
Below is a list of every U.S. state and the income in this state needed to be considered middle class.
Alabama- $44,400
Alaska- $63,800
Arizona- $54,300
Arkansas- $54,3000
California- $66,800
Colorado- $64,700
Connecticut- $64,000
Delaware- $58,400
Florida- $51,800
Georgia- $53,300
Hawaii- $67,200
Idaho- $54,100
Illinois- $55,500
Indiana- $48,000
Iowa- $50,300
Kansas- $50,300
Kentucky- $43,000
Louisiana- $40,700
Maine- $51,000
Maryland - $68,600
Massachusetts - $69,900
Michigan - $48,300
Minnesota- $58,100
Mississippi - $39,400
Missouri- $47,700
Montana- $50,200
Nebraska- $50,900
Nevada- $54,100
New Hampshire - $66,500
New Jersey- $69,500
New Mexico- $45,200
New York- $57,200
North Carolina - $49,300
North Dakota - $51,900
Ohio- $48,100
Oklahoma - $44,100
Oregon- $56,800
Pennsylvania-$51,700
Rhode Island- $55,700
South Carolina- $48,200
South Dakota - $51,300
Tennessee - $48,000
Texas- $53,100
Utah- $64,400
Vermont- $55,200
Virginia- $61,400
Washington- $66,300
West Virginia - $40,500
Wisconsin- $51,700
Wyoming- $50,400
The research follows another recent study by Visual Capitalist, which showed that Colorado, Georgia and Maine are the three states where incomes are rising the fastest.
Meanwhile, according to the Pew Research Center, the share of Americans in the middle class has shrunk over recent decades. In 1971, 61 percent of Americans lived in middle-class households, but by 2023, the share had fallen to 51 percent.
The economic fortunes of these individuals states and the U.S. more broadly will likely fluctuate in the months and years to come.
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