What’s considered middle class can change.
According to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data, about 52% of U.S. adults lived in middle-income homes in 2018.
Recently, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The information was based on data from before the coronavirus pandemic-related economic downturn.
“To determine the income it takes for a family to be considered middle class in every state, using one of the wider definitions, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on U.S. family income quintiles from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey,” the website said it its methodology. “We reviewed the lower boundary of the second quintile and the upper boundary of the fourth quintile, representing in total 60% of American families. We adjusted these boundaries for state-level cost of living using regional price parity data for 2018 from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The RPP-adjusted boundaries were defined as the range of income that could be considered middle class in a given state.”
Georgia’s household income range for the middle class is $23,948 – $114,234. The state’s median family income is the 18th lowest in the country at $74,833.
The Peach States has the 7th lowest middle-class share of income in the nation at 45.4%. With the richest 5% of residents having 23.3% share of state income, however, Georgia ranks the 9th highest in the U.S. The state also has the 24th lowest cost of living nationwide, with it being 7 % less expensive than the national average.
Across the U.S., Mississippi has the lowest median family income in the nation at $58,503 and Hawaii is 18.1% more expensive than U.S. average, making it have the highest in the country.
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