Here’s how much you need to earn in California to be middle class (2024)

FAQs

Here’s how much you need to earn in California to be middle class? ›

The personal finance website defined middle class as “those with an annual household income that is two-thirds to double the median income.” In California, the middle-class household income ranges between $ 61,270 to $183,810, a nearly 50% increase from where it stood in 2012 when it was $40,933 to $122,800.

As of 2022, middle-class household income ranged between $61,270 and $183,810 in the Golden State, according to a recent analysis from personal finance site GoBankingRates.

Based on that number, if you earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, you qualify as middle class. Around half of Americans fall into the middle-class category as of 2021, according to the Pew Research Center, but the numbers have been shrinking over time, down from 61% in 1971.

As of 2022, the top 5% of earners in the state made $613,602 a year on average, according to a recent analysis from personal finance site GoBankingRates. That's roughly a 37% increase from 2017, when top earners raked in an average annual income of $447,207.

The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households that earn between two-thirds and double the median U.S. household income, which was $65,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

By the Census data, it means that if you earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, you are considered middle class. It's a pretty straightforward answer, but it isn't particularly helpful if you're trying to climb up out of a lower income bracket into the middle class.

Upper-middle class: $94,001 – $153,000. Upper class: greater than $153,000.

$45,638 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $78,376 is the 75th percentile.

90K Salary in California. $58,700 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $84,900 is the 75th percentile.

Is 75k a year middle class? ›

One commonly used definition from the Pew Research Center sets a middle-class income between two-thirds and twice the national median income, or $67,819 to $203,458 for a family of four in 2022. Most Americans consider the lower end of that range, $75,000 and $100,000, to be middle class, according to the Post poll.

Middle class: Those in the 40th to 60th percentile of household income, ranging from $55,001 to $89,744. Upper middle class: Households in the 60th to 80th percentile, with incomes between $89,745 and $149,131. Upper class: The top 20% of earners, with household incomes of $149,132 or more.

According to the OECD, the middle class refers to households with income between 75% and 200% of the median national income.

If you earn this much, you're in the middle class

According to the Census data, here's how household income breaks down in the United States: Households in the lowest quintile: $30,000 or less. Households in the second quintile: $30,001 to $58,020. Households in the third quintile: $58,021 to $94,000.

In 2022, the median household income in California amounted to 85,300 U.S. dollars. This is an increase from the previous year, when the median household income in the state was 81,575 U.S. dollars. Median household income for the United States can be accessed here.

What is the average middle class income? In 2024, a large U.S. city's middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000, with the median household income across all 345 cities at $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590, SmartAsset noted.