This is the income you need to be considered 'middle class' in California (2024)

FAQs

This is the income you need to be considered 'middle class' in California? ›

In California, the middle class income range for 2022 was $61,270 to $183,810.

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.

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.

Your household would need to earn at least $64,224 to be considered middle class in the Garden State, and earning more than $192,692 would put you in the upper class.

While California ranks third-most expensive for a single adult to live comfortably at $113,652, it only ranks fifth-most expensive for two working adults raising two children. The total family income should be at least $276,724 in the latter case.

How much does an Upper Class make? As of May 21, 2024, the average annual pay for the Upper Class jobs category in the United States is $59,699 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $28.70 an hour.

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.

Middle Class Income in 2024

But data from the U.S. Census Bureau cites a different number as the average salary: just under $75,000. What does this all mean? By the Census data, it means that if you earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, you are considered middle class.

What is a comfortable middle class income? ›

As of 2022 (the most recent Census data), the average median household income in the U.S. was $73,914, meaning the national range for the middle class is roughly $49,271 to $147,828. Across the nation's largest cities, the range is between $51,558 and $154,590, according to SmartAsset.

“Good income is relative to the average household income in America, which is $78,000 right now.” Real median household income in the U.S. was $78,250 in 2019 and fell to $74,580 in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. "You're not a bad person. You're not a horrible income earner.

Pew Research Center also found that the median middle-class household income was $90,131 in 2020 — the most recent data available. This means that half of all middle-class individuals earn less than this, while half earn more. By contrast, the median income for the upper class is $219,572 a year.

Data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2022. To learn more about this study, tap or click here. A separate study by Consumer Affairs published last month tabulated the minimum annual income required for a family of four to be considered middle class in each state, and in California, that income is $69,064.

New study breaks it down. How rich is rich in California? 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.

With New Jersey ranking as the top state to make the most money to be considered middle class, other states ranking in the top five requiring salaries exceeding $50,000 to be in this category include Maryland ($63,321) and Massachusetts ($62,986), Hawaii ($61,633) and California ($61,028).

Many have graduate degrees with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly exceed $100,000, with some smaller one-income earners household having incomes in the high 5-figure range. "The upper middle class has grown...and its composition has changed.

That means that your net pay will be $55,286 per year, or $4,607 per month. Your average tax rate is 26.3% and your marginal tax rate is 41.0%.