American middle class
Encyclopedia
The American middle class is a social class in the United States. While the concept is typically ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary social scientists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class. Depending on class model used, the middle class may constitute anywhere from 25% to 66% of households.
One of first major studies of the middle class in America, White Collar: The American Middle Classes
, was made by sociologist C. Wright Mills
in 1951.
Later sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert
of Hamilton College commonly divide the middle class into two sub-groups. Constituting roughly 15% to 20% of households is the upper or professional middle class consisting of highly educated, salaried professionals and managers. Constituting roughly one third of households is the lower middle class
consisting mostly of semi-professionals, skilled craftsmen and lower level management. Middle class persons commonly have a comfortable standard of living, significant economic security, considerable work autonomy and rely on their expertise to sustain themselves.
Members of the middle class belong to diverse groups which overlap with each other. Overall, middle class persons, especially upper middle class individuals, are characterized by conceptualizing, creating and consulting. Thus, college education
is one of the main indicators of middle class status. Largely attributed to the nature of middle class occupations, middle class values tend to emphasize independence, adherence to intrinsic standards, valuing innovation and respecting non-conformity. Politically
more active than other demographics, college educated middle class professionals are split between the two major parties. Income
varies considerably from near the national median to well in excess of $100,000. Household income
figures, however, do not always reflect class status and standard of living
, as they are largely influenced by the number of income earner
s and fail to recognize household size. It is therefore possible for a large, dual-earner, lower middle class household to out-earn a small, one-earner, upper middle class household. The middle classes are very influential, as they encompass the majority of voters, writers, teachers, journalists, and editors. Most societal trends in the US originate within the middle classes.
, made up of professionals distinguished by exceptionally high educational attainment as well as high economic security; and a lower middle class
, consisting of semi-professionals. While the groups overlap, differences between those at the center of both groups are considerable.
The lower middle class has lower educational attainment, considerably less workplace autonomy, and lower incomes than the upper middle class. With the emergence of a two-tier labor market, the economic benefits and life chances of upper middle class professionals have grown considerably compared to those of the lower middle class.
The lower middle class needs two income earners in order to sustain a comfortable standard of living, while many upper middle class households can maintain a similar standard of living with just one income earner.
", consists mostly of white collar professionals, most of whom are highly educated, salaried professionals whose work is largely self-directed. Many have graduate degrees, with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly exceed $100,000. Class members typically hold graduate degrees. These professionals typically conceptualize, create, consult, and supervise. As a result, upper middle class employees enjoy great autonomy in the work place and are more satisfied with their careers than non-professional middle class individuals. In terms of financial wealth income, the professional middle class fits in the top third
, but seldom reach the top 5% of American society. According to sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert, James Henslin, Joseph Hickey, and William Thompson, the upper middle class constitutes 15% of the population.
Values and mannerisms are difficult to pinpoint for a group encompassing millions of persons. Naturally, any large group of people will feature social diversity to some extent. However, some generalizations can be made using education and income as class defining criteria. William Thompson and Joseph Hickey noted that upper middle class individual have a more direct and confident manner of speech. In her 1989 publication Effects of Social Class and Interactive Setting on Maternal Speech, Erica Hoff-Ginsberg found that among her surveyed subjects, "Upper-middle class mothers talked more per unit of time and sustained longer interactions with children." She also found that the speech of upper middle class mothers differs "in its functional, discourse, and lexico-syntactic properties," from those in the working class. Upper middle class manners tend to require individuals engaging in conversational discourse with rather distant associates, and to abstain from sharing excessive personal information. This contradicts working class speech patterns, which often include frequent mentions of one's personal life. Further research also suggests that working class parents emphasize conformity, traditional gender roles, and the adherence to external standards in their children, such as being neat and clean and "[believing] in strict leadership." (Gilbert, 1998) This contrasted with professional class households, where gender roles were more egalitarian and loosely defined. Upper middle class children were largely taught to adhere to internal standards, with curiosity, individuality, self-direction, and openness to new ideas being emphasized. While a recent Gallup survey showed mass affluent
households to be conservative on economic issues while liberal on social issues, the upper middle class seems to be relatively politically polarized. In the 2006 mid-term elections both Democrats and Republicans received over 40% of the vote from those with advanced degrees and those in households with six figure incomes. While households with incomes exceeding $100,000 tend to favor Republicans slightly, they are also the only income demographic where Ralph Nader
won more than 1% of the vote. Among those with graduate degrees, a smaller group than those with six figure incomes, the majority tends to vote Democratic with roughly 1% having voted for Nader in 2004.
Sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert, William Thompson, and Joseph Hickey estimate the upper middle class to constitute roughly 15% of the population. Using this figure, one may conclude that the American upper middle class consist of professionals making more than $62,500 who commonly reside in households with six figure incomes. Both of these figures are considerably above the national median of $32,000 regarding individual income
and $46,000 for households
. Many upper middle class professions feature salaries above $67,348, which was the median household income
for a household with two income earners in 2003. For example, the median salary for economists was $72,780, meaning that the majority of economists out earn the majority of two-income households with their single salaries alone. Overall, the median household income of a household whose householder had a bachelor's degree or higher was $77,179. The median household income for those with a master's degree was $81,023, while those with a doctorate or professional degree had a median income above $100,000 annually.
Taking into account the percentages provided in the six-class model by Gilbert, as well as the model of Thompson and Hickey, one can apply US Census Bureau statistics regarding income
. According to these class models the lower middle class is located roughly between the 52nd and 84th percentile of society. In terms of personal income distribution in 2005, that would mean gross annual personal incomes
from about $32,500 to $60,000. As 42% of all households, and the majority of those in the top 40%, had two income earner
s, household income figures
would be significantly higher, ranging from roughly $50,000 to $100,000 annually. In terms of educational attainment
, 27% of persons had a Bachelor's degree or higher
. If the upper middle and upper class combined are to constitute 16% of the population, it becomes clear that some of those in the lower middle class boast college degrees or some college education.
The use of the term "working class" is applicable if the position of individuals, households and families in relation to the production of goods and services is the main determinant of social class. Class distinctions are seen in the distribution of individuals within society whose influence and importance differ. The nature of a person's work and the associated degrees of influence, responsibility, and complexity determine a person's social class. The degree of influence and responsibility a person has or the more complex the work, the higher his or her status in society.
As qualified personnel become scarce for relatively important, responsible, and complex occupations income
increases, following the economic theory of scarcity resulting in value. According to this approach, occupation becomes more essential in determining class than income. Whereas professionals tend to create, conceptualize, consult and instruct, most Americans do not enjoy a high degree of independence in their work, as they merely follow set instructions.
Definitions of the working class are confusing. Defined in terms of income, they may be split into middle-middle or statistical middle class in order to speak to issues of class structure. Class models such as Dennis Gilbert or Thompson and Hickey estimate that roughly 53% of Americans are members of the working or lower classes.
Factors such as nature of work and lack of influence within their jobs leads some theorists to the conclusion that most Americans are working class. They have data that shows the majority of workers are not paid to share their ideas. These workers are closely supervised and do not enjoy independence in their jobs. Also they are not paid to think. For example: The median annual earnings of salaried dentists were $136,960 in May 2006, indicating a high degree of scarcity for qualified personnel. The opinions and thoughts of dentists, much like those of other professionals, are sought after by their organizations and clients. The dentist creates a diagnosis, consults the patient, and conceptualizes a treatment. Dental assistant
s made roughly $14.40 an hour, about $32,000 annually. Unlike dentists, dental assistants do not have much influence over the treatment of patients. They carry out routine procedures and follow the dentists'
instructions. Here we see that a dental assistant
being classified as working class. Similar relationships can be observed in other occupations.
.
consider a large middle class to be a beneficial, stabilizing influence on society, because it has neither the possibly explosive revolutionary tendencies of the lower class, nor the absolutist tendencies of an entrenched upper class. Most sociological
definitions of middle class follow Max Weber
. Here the middle class is defined as consisting of professionals or business owners who share a culture of domesticity and sub-urbanity and a level of relative security against social crisis, in the form of socially desired skill or wealth. Thus the theory on the middle class by Max Weber can be cited as one that supports the notion of the middle class being composed of a quasi-elite of professionals and managers, who are largely immune to economic downturns and trends such as out-sourcing which affect the statistical middle class.
is one of the most prominent determinants of class status. As educational attainment
represents expertise, which is a necessary component of the capitalistic market system, its ownership may be seen as the ownership of one of the factors of production. In other words, those with advanced degrees
already own one of the essential buttresses of the economy: expertise. Additionally educational attainment
is basis for occupational selection. Those with higher educational attainment tend to be positioned in occupations with greater autonomy, influence over the organizational process, and better financial compensation
. While economic compensation
is merely the result of scarcity, educational attainment may be related to that very economic principle as well. The attainment of a graduate degree
represents the acquisition of expertise, a factor of production, that in itself may be scarce; thus leading to better financial compensation for the owner. As stated above, the upper middle class features a strong reliance on educational attainment
(the ownership of expertise) for much of its social and economic well-being. The following chart further explains the strong correlation between educational attainment and personal as well as household income.
SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2003
Income
is one of a household's attributes most commonly used to determine its class status. Yet, income
may not always accurately reflect a household's position within society or the economy. Unlike personal income, household income does not reflect occupational achievement as much as it measures the number of income earners. Sociologist Dennis Gilbert acknowledges that a working class household with two income earners may out-earn a single-income upper middle class household, as the number of income earners has evolved into one of the most important variables in determining household income. For example, according to the US Department of Labor, two registered nurses could quite easily command a household income of $126,000 annually, while the median income for a lawyer was $94,930. Furthermore, household income fails to recognize household size. For example, a single attorney, earning $95,000, may have a higher standard of living than a family of four with an income of $120,000. Yet household income is still a commonly used class indicator, as household members share the same economic fate and class position.
, the "middle class" has great influence. If middle class is used in a manner that includes all persons who are at neither extreme of the social strata
, it might still be influential, as such definition may include the "professional middle class," which is then commonly referred to as the "upper middle class." Despite the fact that the professional (upper) middle class is a privileged minority, it is the perhaps the most influential class in the United States.
Several reasons can be cited as to why the professional middle class is so influential. One is that journalists, commentators, writers, professors, economists, and political scientists, who are essential in shaping public opinion, are almost exclusively members of the professional middle class. Considering the overwhelming presence of professional middle class persons in post secondary education, another essential instrument in regards to shaping public opinion
, it should come as no surprise that the lifestyle exclusive to this quasi-elite has become indicative of the American mainstream itself. In addition to setting trends, the professional middle class also holds occupations which include managerial duties, meaning that middle class professionals spend much of their work-life directing others and conceptualizing the workday for the average worker. Yet another reason is the economic clout generated by this class. In 2005, according to US Census statistics, the top third of society, excluding the top 5%, controlled the largest share of income in the United States. Although some in the statistical middle class (for example, police officers and fire fighters in the more affluent suburbs in the San Francisco Bay Area) may have lifestyles as comfortable as those found among the ranks of the professional middle class, only few have the same degree of autonomy and influence over society as those in the professional middle class. Other white collar members of the statistical middle class may not only be unable to afford the middle class lifestyle but also lack the influence found in the professional middle class.
Note that according to the many different ways of sub-dividing the middle class, some of the occupations indicative of the professional middle class might be categorized as upper-middle
or lower-middle.
As mentioned above, typical occupations for members of the middle class are those identified as being part of "the professions" and often include managerial duties as well, with all being white collar
. There is great diversity among the occupations found among those living the middle class lifestyle, and the appropriateness of some occupations being placed here will depend on each individual’s personal outlook. The following is a list of occupations one might expect to find among this class: Accountants, Professors (Post-secondary educators), Physicians, Engineers, Lawyers, Architects, Journalists, Mid-level corporate managers, Writers
, Economists, Political Scientists, Urban planner
s, Financial managers, High school teachers, Registered Nurses (RNs), Pharmacists and analysts, etc... Autonomy is often seen as one of the greatest measurement of a person's class status. Even though some working class employees might also enjoy largely self-directed work, large degrees of autonomy in the work place, as well as influence over the organizational process, which are commonly the results of obtained expertise, these can still be seen as hallmarks of upper middle class or professional middle class professions.
As for the lower middle class, other less prestigious occupations, many sales positions, entry-level management, secretaries, etc., would be included. In addition to professionals whose work is largely self-directed and includes managerial duties, many other less privileged members of the statistical middle class would find themselves in semi-independent to independent white collar
positions. Many of those in the statistical middle class might work in what are called the professional support fields. These fields include occupations such as dental hygienists, and other professional and sales support.
The American middle class, at least those living the lifestyle, has become known around the world for conspicuous consumption
. To this day, the professional middle class in the United States holds the world record for having the largest homes, most appliances, and most automobiles
. In 2005, the average new home had a square footage of 2,434 square feet (roughly 226 square meters) with 58% of these homes having ceilings with heights in excess of nine feet on the first floor. As new homes only represent a small portion of the housing stock in the US, with most suburban homes having been built in the 1970s when the average square footage
was 1,600, it is fair to assume that these large new suburban homes will be inhabited by members of the professional middle class. Overall, many social critics and intellectuals, most of whom are members of the professional middle class themselves, have commented on the extravagant consumption habits of the professional middle class. It is also often pointed out that the suburban lifestyle of the American professional middle class is a major reason for its record consumption. The increasing materialism, even among such a highly educated
class, is also often claimed to be connected to the notion of rugged individualism which gained popularity among the ranks of the professional middle class in the 1970s and 80s.
Income data indicate that the middle class, including the upper middle class, have seen far slower income growth than the top 1% since 1980. While its income increased as fast as that of the rich in the years following the second World War, it has since experienced far slower income gains than the top. According to economist Janet Yellen
"the growth [in real income] was heavily concentrated at the very tip of the top, that is, the top 1 percent." Between 1979 and 2005, the mean after-tax income of the top 1% increased by an inflation adjusted 176% versus 69% for the top 20% overall. The fourth quintile saw its mean net income increase by 29%, the middle income quintile by 21%, the second quintile by 17% and the bottom quintile by 6%, respectively. The share of gross annual household income of the top 1% has increased to 19.4%, the largest share since the late 1920s. As the U.S. is home to a progressive tax
structure the share of net-income received by the top 1% is smaller, and the share of the middle class consequently larger, than their shares of gross pre-tax income. In 2004, the top percentile’s share of net income was 14%, 27.8% less than its share of gross income, but nonetheless nearly twice as large as in 1979, when it was clocked at 7.5%. The reduced size of the share of aggregate share of income, both pre and after tax, of the middle class has been attributed to the reduced bargaining power of wage earning employees, caused by the decline of unions; a lessening of government redistribution; and technological changes which have created opportunities for certain people to accumulate far greater relative wealth very quickly (including larger markets due to globalization
and Information Age
technologies allowing faster and wider distribution of work product).
The notion that the middle class is shrinking is controversial because the economic boundaries that define the middle class vary. Households that earn between $25,000 and $75,000 represent approximately the middle half of the income distribution tables provided by the U.S. Census Bureau
. Over the past two decades, the number of households in those brackets decreased by 3.9%, from 48.2% to 44.3%. During the same time period, the number of households with incomes below $25,000 decreased 3.5%, from 28.7% to 25.2%, while the number of households with incomes above $75,000 increased over 7%, from 23.2% to 30.4%. A possible explanation for the increase in the higher earnings categories is that more households now have two wage earners. However, a closer analysis reveals all of the 7% increase can be found in households who earn over $100,000.
The change has not always been in the same direction. Poverty rates increased early in the 1980s until late in the 1990s when they started to go back down. Since 2000, the percent of all people living in poverty has risen from 11.3% to 15.1% in 2010.
A study by Brookings Institution
in June 2006 revealed that Middle-income neighborhoods as a proportion of all metropolitan neighborhoods declined from 58 percent in 1970 to 41 percent in 2000. As housing costs increase, the middle class is squeezed and forced to live in less desirable areas making upward mobility more difficult. Safety, school systems, and even jobs are all linked to neighborhood types.
One of first major studies of the middle class in America, White Collar: The American Middle Classes
White Collar: The American Middle Classes
White Collar: The American Middle Classes is a study of the American middle class by sociologist C. Wright Mills, first published in 1951. It describes the forming of a "new class": the white-collar workers. It is also a major study of social alienation in the modern industrialized world and...
, was made by sociologist C. Wright Mills
C. Wright Mills
Charles Wright Mills was an American sociologist. Mills is best remembered for his 1959 book The Sociological Imagination in which he lays out a view of the proper relationship between biography and history, theory and method in sociological scholarship...
in 1951.
Later sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert
Dennis Gilbert
Dennis Gilbert is professor and chair of sociology at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and has taught at the Universidad Catlica in Lima, Peru, Cornell University and joined Hamilton college in 1976. He has published a variety of sociology books,...
of Hamilton College commonly divide the middle class into two sub-groups. Constituting roughly 15% to 20% of households is the upper or professional middle class consisting of highly educated, salaried professionals and managers. Constituting roughly one third of households is the lower middle class
Lower middle class
In developed nations across the world, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class. Universally the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher realms of the middle...
consisting mostly of semi-professionals, skilled craftsmen and lower level management. Middle class persons commonly have a comfortable standard of living, significant economic security, considerable work autonomy and rely on their expertise to sustain themselves.
Members of the middle class belong to diverse groups which overlap with each other. Overall, middle class persons, especially upper middle class individuals, are characterized by conceptualizing, creating and consulting. Thus, college education
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
is one of the main indicators of middle class status. Largely attributed to the nature of middle class occupations, middle class values tend to emphasize independence, adherence to intrinsic standards, valuing innovation and respecting non-conformity. Politically
Political ideologies in the United States
Political ideologies in the United States vary considerably. Persons in the U.S. generally classify themselves either as adhering to positions along the political spectrum as liberal-progressive, moderate, or conservative. American liberalism aims at the preservation and extension of human, social...
more active than other demographics, college educated middle class professionals are split between the two major parties. Income
Income in the United States
Income in the United States is measured by the United States Department of Commerce either by household or individual. The differences between household and personal income is considerable since 42% of households, the majority of those in the top two quintiles with incomes exceeding $57,658, now...
varies considerably from near the national median to well in excess of $100,000. Household income
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
figures, however, do not always reflect class status and standard of living
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
, as they are largely influenced by the number of income earner
Income earner
Income earner refers to an individual who through work, investments or a combination of both derives income, which has a fixed and very fixed value of his/her income...
s and fail to recognize household size. It is therefore possible for a large, dual-earner, lower middle class household to out-earn a small, one-earner, upper middle class household. The middle classes are very influential, as they encompass the majority of voters, writers, teachers, journalists, and editors. Most societal trends in the US originate within the middle classes.
Sub-divisions
The middle class by one definition consists of an upper middle classUpper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
, made up of professionals distinguished by exceptionally high educational attainment as well as high economic security; and a lower middle class
Lower middle class
In developed nations across the world, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class. Universally the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher realms of the middle...
, consisting of semi-professionals. While the groups overlap, differences between those at the center of both groups are considerable.
The lower middle class has lower educational attainment, considerably less workplace autonomy, and lower incomes than the upper middle class. With the emergence of a two-tier labor market, the economic benefits and life chances of upper middle class professionals have grown considerably compared to those of the lower middle class.
The lower middle class needs two income earners in order to sustain a comfortable standard of living, while many upper middle class households can maintain a similar standard of living with just one income earner.
The professional/managerial middle class
The "professional class", also called the "upper middle classUpper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
", consists mostly of white collar professionals, most of whom are highly educated, salaried professionals whose work is largely self-directed. Many have graduate degrees, with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly exceed $100,000. Class members typically hold graduate degrees. These professionals typically conceptualize, create, consult, and supervise. As a result, upper middle class employees enjoy great autonomy in the work place and are more satisfied with their careers than non-professional middle class individuals. In terms of financial wealth income, the professional middle class fits in the top third
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
, but seldom reach the top 5% of American society. According to sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert, James Henslin, Joseph Hickey, and William Thompson, the upper middle class constitutes 15% of the population.
Values and mannerisms are difficult to pinpoint for a group encompassing millions of persons. Naturally, any large group of people will feature social diversity to some extent. However, some generalizations can be made using education and income as class defining criteria. William Thompson and Joseph Hickey noted that upper middle class individual have a more direct and confident manner of speech. In her 1989 publication Effects of Social Class and Interactive Setting on Maternal Speech, Erica Hoff-Ginsberg found that among her surveyed subjects, "Upper-middle class mothers talked more per unit of time and sustained longer interactions with children." She also found that the speech of upper middle class mothers differs "in its functional, discourse, and lexico-syntactic properties," from those in the working class. Upper middle class manners tend to require individuals engaging in conversational discourse with rather distant associates, and to abstain from sharing excessive personal information. This contradicts working class speech patterns, which often include frequent mentions of one's personal life. Further research also suggests that working class parents emphasize conformity, traditional gender roles, and the adherence to external standards in their children, such as being neat and clean and "[believing] in strict leadership." (Gilbert, 1998) This contrasted with professional class households, where gender roles were more egalitarian and loosely defined. Upper middle class children were largely taught to adhere to internal standards, with curiosity, individuality, self-direction, and openness to new ideas being emphasized. While a recent Gallup survey showed mass affluent
Mass affluent
Mass affluent and emerging affluent are marketing terms used to refer to the high end of the mass market. It is most commonly used by the financial services industry to refer to individuals with US$100,000 to US$1,000,000 of liquid financial assets, although the exact definition varies...
households to be conservative on economic issues while liberal on social issues, the upper middle class seems to be relatively politically polarized. In the 2006 mid-term elections both Democrats and Republicans received over 40% of the vote from those with advanced degrees and those in households with six figure incomes. While households with incomes exceeding $100,000 tend to favor Republicans slightly, they are also the only income demographic where Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
won more than 1% of the vote. Among those with graduate degrees, a smaller group than those with six figure incomes, the majority tends to vote Democratic with roughly 1% having voted for Nader in 2004.
Sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert, William Thompson, and Joseph Hickey estimate the upper middle class to constitute roughly 15% of the population. Using this figure, one may conclude that the American upper middle class consist of professionals making more than $62,500 who commonly reside in households with six figure incomes. Both of these figures are considerably above the national median of $32,000 regarding individual income
Personal income in the United States
Personal income is an individual’s total earnings from wages, investment interest, and other sources. In the United States the most widely cited personal income statistics are the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s personal income and the Census Bureau’s per capita money income...
and $46,000 for households
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
. Many upper middle class professions feature salaries above $67,348, which was the median household income
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
for a household with two income earners in 2003. For example, the median salary for economists was $72,780, meaning that the majority of economists out earn the majority of two-income households with their single salaries alone. Overall, the median household income of a household whose householder had a bachelor's degree or higher was $77,179. The median household income for those with a master's degree was $81,023, while those with a doctorate or professional degree had a median income above $100,000 annually.
Lower middle class
The lower middle class is the second most populous according to both Gilbert's as well as Thompson & Hickey's models, constituting roughly one third of the population, the same percentage as the working class. However, according to James M. Henslin, who also divides the middle class into two sub-groups, the lower middle class is the most populous, constituting 34% of the population. In all three class models the lower middle class is said to consist of "semi-professionals" and lower level white collar employees. An adaptation by sociologists Brian K. William, Stacy C. Sawyer, and Carl M. Wahlstrom of Dennis Gilbert's class model gave the following description of the lower middle class:Taking into account the percentages provided in the six-class model by Gilbert, as well as the model of Thompson and Hickey, one can apply US Census Bureau statistics regarding income
Income in the United States
Income in the United States is measured by the United States Department of Commerce either by household or individual. The differences between household and personal income is considerable since 42% of households, the majority of those in the top two quintiles with incomes exceeding $57,658, now...
. According to these class models the lower middle class is located roughly between the 52nd and 84th percentile of society. In terms of personal income distribution in 2005, that would mean gross annual personal incomes
Personal income in the United States
Personal income is an individual’s total earnings from wages, investment interest, and other sources. In the United States the most widely cited personal income statistics are the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s personal income and the Census Bureau’s per capita money income...
from about $32,500 to $60,000. As 42% of all households, and the majority of those in the top 40%, had two income earner
Income earner
Income earner refers to an individual who through work, investments or a combination of both derives income, which has a fixed and very fixed value of his/her income...
s, household income figures
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
would be significantly higher, ranging from roughly $50,000 to $100,000 annually. In terms of educational attainment
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
, 27% of persons had a Bachelor's degree or higher
Bachelor's degree or higher
Bachelor's degree or higher is a commonly used term by the United States Census Bureau and other U.S. government agencies on the federal as well as state and local level. The term describes the portion of the population that has either a bachelor's degree or a higher degree such as a master's or...
. If the upper middle and upper class combined are to constitute 16% of the population, it becomes clear that some of those in the lower middle class boast college degrees or some college education.
Working class majority
Seen from a sociological perspective based on class-cleavages, the majority of Americans can be described as members of the working class.The use of the term "working class" is applicable if the position of individuals, households and families in relation to the production of goods and services is the main determinant of social class. Class distinctions are seen in the distribution of individuals within society whose influence and importance differ. The nature of a person's work and the associated degrees of influence, responsibility, and complexity determine a person's social class. The degree of influence and responsibility a person has or the more complex the work, the higher his or her status in society.
As qualified personnel become scarce for relatively important, responsible, and complex occupations income
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
increases, following the economic theory of scarcity resulting in value. According to this approach, occupation becomes more essential in determining class than income. Whereas professionals tend to create, conceptualize, consult and instruct, most Americans do not enjoy a high degree of independence in their work, as they merely follow set instructions.
Definitions of the working class are confusing. Defined in terms of income, they may be split into middle-middle or statistical middle class in order to speak to issues of class structure. Class models such as Dennis Gilbert or Thompson and Hickey estimate that roughly 53% of Americans are members of the working or lower classes.
Factors such as nature of work and lack of influence within their jobs leads some theorists to the conclusion that most Americans are working class. They have data that shows the majority of workers are not paid to share their ideas. These workers are closely supervised and do not enjoy independence in their jobs. Also they are not paid to think. For example: The median annual earnings of salaried dentists were $136,960 in May 2006, indicating a high degree of scarcity for qualified personnel. The opinions and thoughts of dentists, much like those of other professionals, are sought after by their organizations and clients. The dentist creates a diagnosis, consults the patient, and conceptualizes a treatment. Dental assistant
Dental assistant
Dental assistants assist the dental operator provide more efficient dental treatment, by preparing the patient for treatment, sterilizing instruments, passing instruments during the procedure, holding a suction device, exposing dental radiographs, taking impressions, and fabricating provisional...
s made roughly $14.40 an hour, about $32,000 annually. Unlike dentists, dental assistants do not have much influence over the treatment of patients. They carry out routine procedures and follow the dentists'
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
instructions. Here we see that a dental assistant
Dental assistant
Dental assistants assist the dental operator provide more efficient dental treatment, by preparing the patient for treatment, sterilizing instruments, passing instruments during the procedure, holding a suction device, exposing dental radiographs, taking impressions, and fabricating provisional...
being classified as working class. Similar relationships can be observed in other occupations.
Vernacular middle class
The term middle class in more colloquial language use may refer to all those individuals who might at one point or another be identified as middle class, as they occupy neither extreme of the socio-economic strata. Most of those with households income between $40,000 and $95,000 identify as "middle class." The term can also be used to describe those at the actual center of the income strata, who may also be referred to as the middle-middle class. There are many different theories on the middle-middle class. The middle-middle class may be composed of those households with annual incomes of 80% to 120% of the national median household income. Persons in this income range could, in accordance to solely economic reasoning, be referred to as the American average. Such households would boast annual incomes ranging from $35,200 to $52,800, and thus be located in the middle of the income range. Some of these households, while actually being in the middle and thus sometimes referred to as being middle class, cannot, however, afford the middle class lifestyle. Yet another definition states that the statistical middle class includes all those households with income ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. This is, however, a very vague definition, as it includes persons from all but the lowest quintile. Using this definition creates a class so economically fragmented that it would lump together those who are struggling to make ends meet with two incomes and those who are able to live the iconic middle class lifestyle with just one income and are highly educatedEducational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
.
Weberian definition
Some modern theories of political economyPolitical economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
consider a large middle class to be a beneficial, stabilizing influence on society, because it has neither the possibly explosive revolutionary tendencies of the lower class, nor the absolutist tendencies of an entrenched upper class. Most sociological
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
definitions of middle class follow Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
. Here the middle class is defined as consisting of professionals or business owners who share a culture of domesticity and sub-urbanity and a level of relative security against social crisis, in the form of socially desired skill or wealth. Thus the theory on the middle class by Max Weber can be cited as one that supports the notion of the middle class being composed of a quasi-elite of professionals and managers, who are largely immune to economic downturns and trends such as out-sourcing which affect the statistical middle class.
Income
As social classes lack clear boundaries and overlap there are no definite income thresholds as for what is considered middle class. Sociologist Leonard Beeghley identifies a male making $57,000 and a female making $40,000 with a combined households income of $97,000 as a typical middle class family. Sociologists William Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate an income range of roughly $35,000 to $75,000 for the lower middle class and $100,000 or more for the upper middle class. Many social scientists including economist Michael Zweig and sociologist Dennis Gilbert contend that middle class persons usually have above median incomes.Education and income
Educational attainmentEducational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
is one of the most prominent determinants of class status. As educational attainment
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
represents expertise, which is a necessary component of the capitalistic market system, its ownership may be seen as the ownership of one of the factors of production. In other words, those with advanced degrees
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
already own one of the essential buttresses of the economy: expertise. Additionally educational attainment
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
is basis for occupational selection. Those with higher educational attainment tend to be positioned in occupations with greater autonomy, influence over the organizational process, and better financial compensation
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
. While economic compensation
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
is merely the result of scarcity, educational attainment may be related to that very economic principle as well. The attainment of a graduate degree
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
represents the acquisition of expertise, a factor of production, that in itself may be scarce; thus leading to better financial compensation for the owner. As stated above, the upper middle class features a strong reliance on educational attainment
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
(the ownership of expertise) for much of its social and economic well-being. The following chart further explains the strong correlation between educational attainment and personal as well as household income.
| Criteria | Overall | Less than 9th grade | High school drop-out | High school graduate | Some college | Associates degree | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree or more | Master's degree | Professional degree | Doctoral degree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median individual income | Male, age 25+ | $33,517 | $15,461 | $18,990 | $28,763 | $35,073 | $39,015 | $50,916 | $55,751 | $61,698 | $88,530 | $73,853 |
| Female, age 25+ | $19,679 | $9,296 | $10,786 | $15,962 | $21,007 | $24,808 | $31,309 | $35,125 | $41,334 | $48,536 | $53,003 | |
| Median household income | $45,016 | $18,787 | $22,718 | $36,835 | $45,854 | $51,970 | $68,728 | $73,446 | $78,541 | $100,000 | $96,830 | |
SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2003
Household income controversy
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
is one of a household's attributes most commonly used to determine its class status. Yet, income
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
may not always accurately reflect a household's position within society or the economy. Unlike personal income, household income does not reflect occupational achievement as much as it measures the number of income earners. Sociologist Dennis Gilbert acknowledges that a working class household with two income earners may out-earn a single-income upper middle class household, as the number of income earners has evolved into one of the most important variables in determining household income. For example, according to the US Department of Labor, two registered nurses could quite easily command a household income of $126,000 annually, while the median income for a lawyer was $94,930. Furthermore, household income fails to recognize household size. For example, a single attorney, earning $95,000, may have a higher standard of living than a family of four with an income of $120,000. Yet household income is still a commonly used class indicator, as household members share the same economic fate and class position.
Influence
The influence of the middle class depends on which theory one utilizes. If the middle class is defined as a modern bourgeoisieBourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
, the "middle class" has great influence. If middle class is used in a manner that includes all persons who are at neither extreme of the social strata
Social structure
Social structure is a term used in the social sciences to refer to patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of the individuals. The usage of the term "social structure" has changed over time and may reflect the various levels of analysis...
, it might still be influential, as such definition may include the "professional middle class," which is then commonly referred to as the "upper middle class." Despite the fact that the professional (upper) middle class is a privileged minority, it is the perhaps the most influential class in the United States.
Several reasons can be cited as to why the professional middle class is so influential. One is that journalists, commentators, writers, professors, economists, and political scientists, who are essential in shaping public opinion, are almost exclusively members of the professional middle class. Considering the overwhelming presence of professional middle class persons in post secondary education, another essential instrument in regards to shaping public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
, it should come as no surprise that the lifestyle exclusive to this quasi-elite has become indicative of the American mainstream itself. In addition to setting trends, the professional middle class also holds occupations which include managerial duties, meaning that middle class professionals spend much of their work-life directing others and conceptualizing the workday for the average worker. Yet another reason is the economic clout generated by this class. In 2005, according to US Census statistics, the top third of society, excluding the top 5%, controlled the largest share of income in the United States. Although some in the statistical middle class (for example, police officers and fire fighters in the more affluent suburbs in the San Francisco Bay Area) may have lifestyles as comfortable as those found among the ranks of the professional middle class, only few have the same degree of autonomy and influence over society as those in the professional middle class. Other white collar members of the statistical middle class may not only be unable to afford the middle class lifestyle but also lack the influence found in the professional middle class.
Typical occupations
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
or lower-middle.
As mentioned above, typical occupations for members of the middle class are those identified as being part of "the professions" and often include managerial duties as well, with all being white collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
. There is great diversity among the occupations found among those living the middle class lifestyle, and the appropriateness of some occupations being placed here will depend on each individual’s personal outlook. The following is a list of occupations one might expect to find among this class: Accountants, Professors (Post-secondary educators), Physicians, Engineers, Lawyers, Architects, Journalists, Mid-level corporate managers, Writers
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, Economists, Political Scientists, Urban planner
Urban planner
An urban planner or city planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning/land use planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically...
s, Financial managers, High school teachers, Registered Nurses (RNs), Pharmacists and analysts, etc... Autonomy is often seen as one of the greatest measurement of a person's class status. Even though some working class employees might also enjoy largely self-directed work, large degrees of autonomy in the work place, as well as influence over the organizational process, which are commonly the results of obtained expertise, these can still be seen as hallmarks of upper middle class or professional middle class professions.
As for the lower middle class, other less prestigious occupations, many sales positions, entry-level management, secretaries, etc., would be included. In addition to professionals whose work is largely self-directed and includes managerial duties, many other less privileged members of the statistical middle class would find themselves in semi-independent to independent white collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
positions. Many of those in the statistical middle class might work in what are called the professional support fields. These fields include occupations such as dental hygienists, and other professional and sales support.
Consumption
Conspicuous consumption
Conspicuous consumption is spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. In the mind of a conspicuous consumer, such display serves as a means of attaining or maintaining social status....
. To this day, the professional middle class in the United States holds the world record for having the largest homes, most appliances, and most automobiles
Passenger vehicles in the United States
Note: this article adopts the U.S. Department of Transportation's definition of a passenger vehicle, to mean a car or truck, used for passengers, excluding buses and trains....
. In 2005, the average new home had a square footage of 2,434 square feet (roughly 226 square meters) with 58% of these homes having ceilings with heights in excess of nine feet on the first floor. As new homes only represent a small portion of the housing stock in the US, with most suburban homes having been built in the 1970s when the average square footage
Real estate pricing
Real estate pricing deals with the valuation of real estate and all the standard methods of determining the price of fixed assets apply....
was 1,600, it is fair to assume that these large new suburban homes will be inhabited by members of the professional middle class. Overall, many social critics and intellectuals, most of whom are members of the professional middle class themselves, have commented on the extravagant consumption habits of the professional middle class. It is also often pointed out that the suburban lifestyle of the American professional middle class is a major reason for its record consumption. The increasing materialism, even among such a highly educated
Educational attainment in the United States
The educational attainment of the U.S. population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. As a whole, the population of the...
class, is also often claimed to be connected to the notion of rugged individualism which gained popularity among the ranks of the professional middle class in the 1970s and 80s.
Increased inequality
Janet Yellen
Janet Louise Yellen is an American economist and professor, who is currently the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System...
"the growth [in real income] was heavily concentrated at the very tip of the top, that is, the top 1 percent." Between 1979 and 2005, the mean after-tax income of the top 1% increased by an inflation adjusted 176% versus 69% for the top 20% overall. The fourth quintile saw its mean net income increase by 29%, the middle income quintile by 21%, the second quintile by 17% and the bottom quintile by 6%, respectively. The share of gross annual household income of the top 1% has increased to 19.4%, the largest share since the late 1920s. As the U.S. is home to a progressive tax
Progressive tax
A progressive tax is a tax by which the tax rate increases as the taxable base amount increases. "Progressive" describes a distribution effect on income or expenditure, referring to the way the rate progresses from low to high, where the average tax rate is less than the marginal tax rate...
structure the share of net-income received by the top 1% is smaller, and the share of the middle class consequently larger, than their shares of gross pre-tax income. In 2004, the top percentile’s share of net income was 14%, 27.8% less than its share of gross income, but nonetheless nearly twice as large as in 1979, when it was clocked at 7.5%. The reduced size of the share of aggregate share of income, both pre and after tax, of the middle class has been attributed to the reduced bargaining power of wage earning employees, caused by the decline of unions; a lessening of government redistribution; and technological changes which have created opportunities for certain people to accumulate far greater relative wealth very quickly (including larger markets due to globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and Information Age
Information Age
The Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously...
technologies allowing faster and wider distribution of work product).
The notion that the middle class is shrinking is controversial because the economic boundaries that define the middle class vary. Households that earn between $25,000 and $75,000 represent approximately the middle half of the income distribution tables provided by the U.S. Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
. Over the past two decades, the number of households in those brackets decreased by 3.9%, from 48.2% to 44.3%. During the same time period, the number of households with incomes below $25,000 decreased 3.5%, from 28.7% to 25.2%, while the number of households with incomes above $75,000 increased over 7%, from 23.2% to 30.4%. A possible explanation for the increase in the higher earnings categories is that more households now have two wage earners. However, a closer analysis reveals all of the 7% increase can be found in households who earn over $100,000.
The change has not always been in the same direction. Poverty rates increased early in the 1980s until late in the 1990s when they started to go back down. Since 2000, the percent of all people living in poverty has risen from 11.3% to 15.1% in 2010.
A study by Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
in June 2006 revealed that Middle-income neighborhoods as a proportion of all metropolitan neighborhoods declined from 58 percent in 1970 to 41 percent in 2000. As housing costs increase, the middle class is squeezed and forced to live in less desirable areas making upward mobility more difficult. Safety, school systems, and even jobs are all linked to neighborhood types.
See also
- American DreamAmerican DreamThe American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
- Middle Class MillionaireMiddle Class MillionaireThe Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They are Changing America is a book that chronicles the evolution of America’s middle-class over the last twenty years, and at how a portion of the middle-class is pulling away from the rest by amassing significant wealth...
- MillionaireMillionaireA millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
- Plain Folk of the Old SouthPlain Folk of the Old SouthThe Plain Folk of the Old South refers to the middling class of white farmers in the Southern United States before the Civil War, located between the rich planters and the poor whites. At the time they were often called "yeomen". They owned land and had no slaves or only a few. Most of them were...
- Upper middle class in the United StatesUpper middle class in the United StatesThe upper middle class in the United States is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term lower middle class which refers to the group at the opposite end of the middle class scale. There is...
External links
- What's (Not) the Matter With the Middle Class?, The American Prospect
- Lou Dobbs discusses "The War on the Middle Class" on October 17, 2006
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,439766,00.htmlA SUPERPOWER IN DECLINE: America's Middle Class Has Become Globalization's Loser by Gabor SteingartGábor SteingartGabor Steingart is a German journalist and author of several popular and influential books. He is currently the chief editor of Handelsblatt, Germany's leading economic newspaper.- Life :...
(spiegel online) October 24, 2006] - American Middle Class: Endangered Species by Pete Fisher (newmediajournal.us) March 1, 2006