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Am I Middle Class?
Everyone assumes they are middle class. Most are wrong in one direction or the other. Enter your income and see exactly where you land in your country.
YOUR CLASS
Middle class
You earn more than about 65% of adults in the United States. That puts you squarely in the middle class, which runs from about $34,467 to $103,402. Upper-middle class begins at $103,402.
An income of $75,000 in the United States is middle class. It is higher than about 65% of adults, placing you in the top 35%. The United States middle class runs from about $34,467 to $103,402 per adult.
| Your income | $75,000 |
|---|---|
| Country median | $51,701 |
| Middle-class range (Pew) | $34,467 to $103,402 |
| Your class | Middle class |
| Your income percentile | about 65th (top 35%) |
| Top 10% starts at | $170,597 |
| Top 1% starts at | $571,509 |
Income per adult, before tax. Class bands use the Pew definition (two-thirds to two times the median). Placement is directional, not an official designation.
Educational comparison. Not financial advice.
What income is middle class?
The most widely used definition comes from Pew Research: a middle-class income runs from two-thirds to two times the national median. In the United States, where median income per adult is about $51,700, the middle class sits roughly between $34,000 and $103,000. It is a relative measure, so there is no single global number. The same salary that is comfortably middle class in one country can be upper class in another, and this tool applies the same rule to whichever country you pick.
Am I upper class or rich?
Above two times the median, you move into the upper-middle class, up to the top 10% line. Past the top 10% threshold you are upper class, and past the top 1% threshold you are in the wealthiest 1% of your country. These lines are far higher than most people guess, which is why so many high earners still feel middle class. The tool shows the exact income each tier begins at for your country.
Why the middle class feels smaller than it is
People anchor on the people around them, not the national distribution. A high earner surrounded by higher earners feels average, and a modest earner in a modest area feels typical, even when both are far from the median. Measuring against the whole country, rather than your street, is the only way to see where you actually stand.
Frequently asked questions
What income is middle class?
The common definition, from Pew Research, is income between two-thirds and two times the national median. In the United States, where median individual income is about $51,700, that puts the middle class roughly between $34,000 and $103,000 per adult. The range differs in every country.
Am I middle class?
Compare your income to your country's median. If you earn between two-thirds and two times that median, you are middle class by the standard definition. Below that you are lower income, and above it you are upper-middle or upper class. This tool shows exactly where you land.
What income is considered upper class or rich?
Upper-middle class runs from about two times the median up to the top 10% threshold. Above the top 10% line you are upper class, and above the top 1% line you are in the wealthiest 1% of your country. Both thresholds vary widely between countries.
How is the middle class defined?
The most widely used definition is Pew Research's: a middle-class household earns between two-thirds and double the national median income. It is a relative measure, so the same salary can be middle class in one country and upper class in another.
Is this household or individual income?
This tool uses income per adult, before tax, to match the World Inequality Database source. Enter your own gross income, not a household total, for the most accurate placement.
Why does middle class income differ so much by country?
Because class is defined relative to each country's own median. A middle-class income in Switzerland is far higher in dollar terms than a middle-class income in India, even though both sit in the middle of their own distribution.
How this is calculated
We take the income distribution for your country from the World Inequality Database, measured per adult and before tax. Your class is set by the Pew definition: lower income below two-thirds of the median, middle class from two-thirds to two times the median, and upper-middle, upper, and top 1% above that, using the country's top-10% and top-1% thresholds. Your percentile is found by placing your income on the country's distribution curve.
Because it uses per-adult, pre-tax income, enter your own gross income rather than a household total. Figures are directional comparisons, not official class designations, and do not adjust for cost of living within a country. Figures compiled by Tesseract Research from the World Inequality Database. Not financial advice.
Where you rank is set. Where you go from here is not.
Income tells you where you stand today. What you do with the surplus decides where you stand in ten years. Tesseract Stock Agent is our structured research workflow for putting money to work with discipline instead of guesswork. No hype, no picks, no slop.
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