What Income Level Is Considered Middle Class in Your State?
What is considered middle class? It might take more money than you think to reach this income tier. The Pew Research Center defines middle class, or middle-income households, as those with incomes that are two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income.
However, because the cost of living and average income varies so widely from state to state, the income needed to be “middle class” in one state could be much more or less than what it takes to be middle class in another. Using Pew’s definition of middle class, GOBankingRates analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey to determine how much two-, three- and four-person families need to earn in every state to qualify for this classification.
Find out the state’s where it’s easiest to be middle class.
Last updated: October 1, 2020
50. Alabama
2-person family middle-class income range: $37,172.94 to $110,964
3-person family middle-class income range: $42,604.63 to $127,178
4-person family middle-class income range: $52,438.89 to $156,534
49. Alaska
2-person family middle-class income range: $56,330.92 to $168,152
3-person family middle-class income range: $60,428.64 to $180,384
4-person family middle-class income range: $69,665.26 to $207,956
48. Arizona
2-person family middle-class income range: $42,284.37 to $126,222
3-person family middle-class income range: $45,197.53 to $134,918
4-person family middle-class income range: $53,119.61 to $158,566
47. Arkansas
2-person family middle-class income range: $35,087.23 to $104,738
3-person family middle-class income range: $38,855.31 to $115,986
4-person family middle-class income range: $46,507.38 to $138,828
46. California
2-person family middle-class income range: $50,117.34 to $149,604
3-person family middle-class income range: $54,870.99 to $163,794
4-person family middle-class income range: $62,647.68 to $187,008
Related: How Much Middle-Class Families Earn in Every State
45. Colorado
2-person family middle-class income range: $51,695.19 to $154,314
3-person family middle-class income range: $57,772.76 to $172,456
4-person family middle-class income range: $67,509.20 to $201,520
44. Connecticut
2-person family middle-class income range: $56,695.40 to $169,240
3-person family middle-class income range: $66,263 to $197,800
4-person family middle-class income range: $80,839.52 to $241,312
43. Delaware
2-person family middle-class income range: $47,450.07 to $141,642
3-person family middle-class income range: $55,792.91 to $166,546
4-person family middle-class income range: $67,502.50 to $201,500
42. Florida
2-person family middle-class income range: $39,789.96 to $118,776
3-person family middle-class income range: $43,393.89 to $129,534
4-person family middle-class income range: $51,789.66 to $154,596
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41. Georgia
2-person family middle-class income range: $40,845.21 to $121,926
3-person family middle-class income range: $46,002.20 to $137,320
4-person family middle-class income range: $53,740.03 to $160,418
40. Hawaii
2-person family middle-class income range: $51,397.71 to $153,426
3-person family middle-class income range: $61,821.57 to $184,542
4-person family middle-class income range: $69,842.14 to $208,484
39. Idaho
2-person family middle-class income range: $39,885.10 to $119,060
3-person family middle-class income range: $43,232.42 to $129,052
4-person family middle-class income range: $50,060.39 to $149,434
38. Illinois
2-person family middle-class income range: $47,116.41 to $140,646
3-person family middle-class income range: $54,310.87 to $162,122
4-person family middle-class income range: $65,412.77 to $195,262
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37. Indiana
2-person family middle-class income range: $40,695.80 to $121,480
3-person family middle-class income range: $47,411.21 to $141,526
4-person family middle-class income range: $55,750.03 to $166,418
36. Iowa
2-person family middle-class income range: $44,792.18 to $133,708
3-person family middle-class income range: $51,367.56 to $153,336
4-person family middle-class income range: $61,254.08 to $182,848
35. Kansas
2-person family middle-class income range: $44,103.42 to $131,652
3-person family middle-class income range: $50,075.80 to $149,480
4-person family middle-class income range: $58,316.13 to $174,078
34. Kentucky
2-person family middle-class income range: $36,106.97 to $107,782
3-person family middle-class income range: $42,429.09 to $126,654
4-person family middle-class income range: $52,059 to $155,400
33. Louisiana
2-person family middle-class income range: $36,315.34 to $108,404
3-person family middle-class income range: $42,047.19 to $125,514
4-person family middle-class income range: $53,242.89 to $158,934
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32. Maine
2-person family middle-class income range: $42,119.55 to $125,730
3-person family middle-class income range: $50,917.32 to $151,992
4-person family middle-class income range: $60,412.56 to $180,336
31. Maryland
2-person family middle-class income range: $58,147.96 to $173,576
3-person family middle-class income range: $68,045.87 to $203,122
4-person family middle-class income range: $80,429.48 to $240,088
30. Massachusetts
2-person family middle-class income range: $54,438.17 to $162,502
3-person family middle-class income range: $68,368.81 to $204,086
4-person family middle-class income range: $83,974.45 to $250,670
29. Michigan
2-person family middle-class income range: $41,073.68 to $122,608
3-person family middle-class income range: $49,233.61 to $146,966
4-person family middle-class income range: $60,088.28 to $179,368
28. Minnesota
2-person family middle-class income range: $50,252.01 to $150,006
3-person family middle-class income range: $60,824.61 to $181,566
4-person family middle-class income range: $72,837.71 to $217,426
Read: 35 Cities Where You Can Afford To Live on Less Than $50,000
27. Mississippi
2-person family middle-class income range: $33,585.09 to $100,254
3-person family middle-class income range: $36,874.79 to $110,074
4-person family middle-class income range: $44,646.79 to $133,274
26. Missouri
2-person family middle-class income range: $40,137.02 to $119,812
3-person family middle-class income range: $47,224.28 to $140,968
4-person family middle-class income range: $56,973.45 to $170,070
25. Montana
2-person family middle-class income range: $41,358.43 to $123,458
3-person family middle-class income range: $47,905.67 to $143,002
4-person family middle-class income range: $57,155.02 to $170,612
24. Nebraska
2-person family middle-class income range: $45,617.62 to $136,172
3-person family middle-class income range: $51,282.47 to $153,082
4-person family middle-class income range: $60,474.87 to $180,522
23. Nevada
2-person family middle-class income range: $42,436.46 to $126,676
3-person family middle-class income range: $46,585.10 to $139,060
4-person family middle-class income range: $52,754.46 to $157,476
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22. New Hampshire
2-person family middle-class income range: $51,969.89 to $155,134
3-person family middle-class income range: $63,278.82 to $188,892
4-person family middle-class income range: $77,816.48 to $232,288
21. New Jersey
2-person family middle-class income range: $54,144.71 to $161,626
3-person family middle-class income range: $67,765.81 to $202,286
4-person family middle-class income range: $82,698.10 to $246,860
20. New Mexico
2-person family middle-class income range: $38,553.14 to $115,084
3-person family middle-class income range: $38,622.15 to $115,290
4-person family middle-class income range: $43,667.92 to $130,352
19. New York
2-person family middle-class income range: $46,597.83 to $139,098
3-person family middle-class income range: $55,155.74 to $164,644
4-person family middle-class income range: $67,252.59 to $200,754
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18. North Carolina
2-person family middle-class income range: $39,766.51 to $118,706
3-person family middle-class income range: $44,938.24 to $134,144
4-person family middle-class income range: $54,094.46 to $161,476
17. North Dakota
2-person family middle-class income range: $50,524.70 to $150,820
3-person family middle-class income range: $56,369.11 to $168,266
4-person family middle-class income range: $67,521.93 to $201,558
16. Ohio
2-person family middle-class income range: $41,263.96 to $123,176
3-person family middle-class income range: $48,556.91 to $144,946
4-person family middle-class income range: $58,955.98 to $175,988
15. Oklahoma
2-person family middle-class income range: $39,604.37 to $118,222
3-person family middle-class income range: $43,061.57 to $128,542
4-person family middle-class income range: $49,231.60 to $146,960
14. Oregon
2-person family middle-class income range: $44,341.27 to $132,362
3-person family middle-class income range: $50,984.32 to $152,192
4-person family middle-class income range: $59,710.40 to $178,240
13. Pennsylvania
2-person family middle-class income range: $43,328.90 to $129,340
3-person family middle-class income range: $53,888.10 to $160,860
4-person family middle-class income range: $64,841.26 to $193,556
Related: How Much You Need to Be in the Top 5% in Every State
12. Rhode Island
2-person family middle-class income range: $48,213.20 to $143,920
3-person family middle-class income range: $55,043.85 to $164,310
4-person family middle-class income range: $69,286.71 to $206,826
11. South Carolina
2-person family middle-class income range: $39,337.04 to $117,424
3-person family middle-class income range: $42,692.40 to $127,440
4-person family middle-class income range: $51,590 to $154,000
10. South Dakota
2-person family middle-class income range: $44,333.90 to $132,340
3-person family middle-class income range: $49,529.08 to $147,848
4-person family middle-class income range: $57,928.87 to $172,922
9. Tennessee
2-person family middle-class income range: $38,167.22 to $113,932
3-person family middle-class income range: $43,790.53 to $130,718
4-person family middle-class income range: $51,220.83 to $152,898
8. Texas
2-person family middle-class income range: $43,321.53 to $129,318
3-person family middle-class income range: $47,581.39 to $142,034
4-person family middle-class income range: $54,994.94 to $164,164
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7. Utah
2-person family middle-class income range: $44,442.44 to $132,664
3-person family middle-class income range: $51,330.71 to $153,226
4-person family middle-class income range: $57,409.62 to $171,372
6. Vermont
2-person family middle-class income range: $46,184.44 to $137,864
3-person family middle-class income range: $54,231.14 to $161,884
4-person family middle-class income range: $63,166.26 to $188,556
5. Virginia
2-person family middle-class income range: $51,174.60 to $152,760
3-person family middle-class income range: $59,441.06 to $177,436
4-person family middle-class income range: $70,116.84 to $209,304
4. Washington
2-person family middle-class income range: $51,331.38 to $153,228
3-person family middle-class income range: $58,312.78 to $174,068
4-person family middle-class income range: $68,185.23 to $203,538
3. West Virginia
2-person family middle-class income range: $34,203.50 to $102,100
3-person family middle-class income range: $41,735.64 to $124,584
4-person family middle-class income range: $49,760.90 to $148,540
2. Wisconsin
2-person family middle-class income range: $44,306.43 to $132,258
3-person family middle-class income range: $53,190.63 to $158,778
4-person family middle-class income range: $64,167.91 to $191,546
1. Wyoming
2-person family middle-class income range: $47,764.30 to $142,580
3-person family middle-class income range: $53,187.95 to $158,770
4-person family middle-class income range: $61,159.61 to $182,566
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Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting of this article.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Income Level Is Considered Middle Class in Your State?
