The American middle class has been declining for decades. But even in its diminished state, presidential candidates still play to it, promising to protect middle-class families, defend middle-class values and cut middle-class taxes. So what is this decaying economic group, and who's part of it? The AJC polled residents in 10 metro counties to find out. Click here for more information about the poll and why the AJC conducted it.
Get happy: Think like an immigrant
The takeaway: The combination of humble beginnings and a determination to overcome adversity is a potent formula for satisfaction.
AJC poll nuggets: Latinos were far more likely than non-Latinos to identify as middle class, even though they were also likelier to say they just meet their monthly expenses, with little or nothing left over. Latinos were less likely than other respondents to think things have gotten worse for the middle class and more likely to be passionate about working hard to get ahead. They were also far more optimistic than other respondents about the economic prospects of the next generation.
Asked to define the income level at which one enters the middle class, Latinos tended to set the bar lower. Nearly half chose $30,000; among non-Latinos, only about a quarter of respondents set it that low.
Many of those findings mirror previous research. A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that “second-generation Hispanics and Asian Americans place more importance than does the general public on hard work and career success. … And for the most part they are more likely to say their standard of living is higher than that of their parents at the same stage of life.”
By the numbers: Of course, not all Latinos are immigrants or children of immigrants. But about two-thirds of Latino adults in Georgia are foreign-born, according to census estimates.
Immigrant or not, Latino households have a median income nearly $11,000 below the median for all Georgia households and nearly $20,000 lower than non-Latino whites, census figures show. So their generally more upbeat outlook doesn’t appear to stem from comparing their financial status to other segments of the population.
Something else is at work – or, more than likely, several somethings.
One may be that individuals with the gumption and drive to pull up stakes in search of a better life in a foreign land are, by nature, optimistic. Perhaps, too, they measure their financial progress against the lives of the friends and family they left behind.
Research has also shown that among immigrant populations -- regardless of race or national and cultural origins – the second generation generally fares much better than the first. That holds true for income levels, educational attainment, home ownership and other common measures of success. (Note: the AJC poll did not employ Asian as a separate racial category, including it in the broader category of “other.”)
About the poll
This survey that forms the basis of this report was conducted for the AJC by the A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service & Research at Kennesaw State University. It was conducted by telephone June 17-24 with 625 adult residents of 10 metro Atlanta counties*. The survey included both landline telephones and cellphones. Prior to analysis, the results were weighted by mode (landline vs. cell), gender, age, education, race, ethnic origin (Latino vs. non-Latino), household size and county of residence to reflect the distribution of these characteristics in the adult population in the Atlanta area. The margin of error for the sample as a whole is ± 4%.
* Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Rockdale
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