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.
The middle class is all (OK, mostly) in your mind
The takeaway: Income matters, but feeling like part of the middle class, like all questions of personal identity, is a lot more complex.
AJC poll nuggets: Obviously, if people with household incomes of less than $15,000 and more than $100,000 both call themselves middle class, it's about more than numbers in a bank account. But it also seems to extend beyond broader issues of financial wellbeing, such as how flush or pinched one feels.
Some poll respondents who said they barely scrape by or who even fail to meet their basic expenses still called themselves middle class rather than lower middle class. So did plenty of people at the other end of the spectrum, who said they live comfortably but didn’t identify as upper middle class.
In a similar vein, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to call themselves middle class, although, as demographic groups, their incomes tend toward the lower end of the scale. And people 65 and older were more likely to identify as middle class than those 55 to 64, whose incomes are generally higher.
National surveys, too, often find a mismatch between respondents’ incomes and where they place themselves in the class structure. Research has also found that the factors people weigh in making class distinctions shift over time.
One intriguing factoid comes from the Pew Research Center, which has polled extensively on class issues over many years. Before the housing bubble burst, respondents consistently listed home ownership as a must-have for the middle class. In previous years when Pew asked the question, respondents put far more emphasis on job security and health insurance than home ownership.
By the numbers: There are plenty of reasons some people might identify as middle class even when their income would suggest otherwise.
At the lower end of the income scale, family history may play a role. Young people just getting established may feel middle class because they grew up that way and expect to become financially comfortable, even if they’re not quite there yet. Similarly, people who’ve suffered a financial reversal may have confidence that they’ll climb out of the hole, especially if they have the education, skills and connections to help them do it.
Expectations may also play a role. If you grew up in poverty and have moved up the ladder a notch or two, you may feel middle class compared to where you started, even if your income is still well below the median.
At the other end of the spectrum, people whose incomes would arguably place them in the upper middle class or even the upper class may still feel financially stretched. A couple of kids in college, the responsibility for aging parents, the stock market’s vagaries and questions about retirement can cast a pall over just about anybody’s financial outlook.
Then, too, there’s that odious matter of comparisons. Even someone with a $1 million income is a lot closer to the median than to the billionaire class whose exploits are constant fodder for our celebrity culture.
And, finally, as much as we lionize the wealthy, we also resent them. By contrast, being middle class is solid, virtuous and quintessentially American. It’s what we’re supposed to be.
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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