Older Americans and Black adults made the greatest progress up the income ladder from 1971 to 2021. aggregate income held by lower-income households edged down from 10% to 8% over these five decades, even though the proportion of adults living in lower-income households increased over this period. Part of this increase reflects the rising share of adults who are in the upper-income tier. Meanwhile, the share of aggregate income accounted for by upper-income households has increased steadily, from 29% in 1970 to 50% in 2020. In 1970, adults in middle-income households accounted for 62% of aggregate income, a share that fell to 42% in 2020. aggregate income held by middle-class households. The widening of the income gap and the shrinking of the middle class has led to a steady decrease in the share of U.S. household income held by the middle class has fallen steadily since 1970. The median income of upper-income households was 2.4 times that of middle-income households in 2020, up from 2.2 in 1970. In 2020, the median income of upper-income households was 7.3 times that of lower-income households, up from 6.3 in 1970. Their median income increased 69% during that timespan, from $130,008 to $219,572.Īs a result of these changes, the gap in the incomes of upper-income and other households also increased. The rise in income from 1970 to 2020 was steepest for upper-income households. The median income for lower-income households grew more slowly than that of middle-class households, increasing from $20,604 in 1970 to $29,963 in 2020, or 45%. These gains were realized slowly, but for the most part steadily, with the exception of the period from 2000 to 2010, the so-called “ lost decade,” when incomes fell across the board. The median income of middle-class households in 2020 was 50% greater than in 1970 ($90,131 vs. Household incomes have risen considerably since 1970, but those of middle-class households have not climbed nearly as much as those of upper-income households. Class also could simply be a matter of self-identification. But being middle class can refer to more than just income, be it the level of education, the type of profession, economic security, home ownership, or one’s social and political values. The terms “middle income” and “middle class” are used interchangeably in this analysis for the sake of exposition. The boundaries of the income tiers also vary across years with changes in the national median income. The income it takes to be middle income varies by household size, with smaller households requiring less to support the same lifestyle as larger households. “Lower-income” adults have household incomes less than $52,000 and “upper-income” adults have household incomes greater than $156,000. In this analysis, “middle-income” adults in 2021 are those with an annual household income that was two-thirds to double the national median income in 2020, after incomes have been adjusted for household size, or about $52,000 to $156,000 annually in 2020 dollars for a household of three. Thus, the shares of adults in an income tier are based on their household incomes in the previous year.) (In the source data for both analyses, demographic figures refer to the 1971-2021 period, while income figures refer to the 1970-2020 period. A related analysis examines the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the financial well-being of households in the lower-, middle- and upper-income tiers, with comparisons to the Great Recession era. middle class and that of America’s major demographic groups have changed since 1971. The analysis below presents seven facts about how the economic status of the U.S. These changes have occurred gradually, as the share of adults in the middle class decreased in each decade from 1971 to 2011, but then held steady through 2021. The shrinking of the middle class has been accompanied by an increase in the share of adults in the upper-income tier – from 14% in 1971 to 21% in 2021 – as well as an increase in the share who are in the lower-income tier, from 25% to 29%. The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.įrom 2020: Are you in the American middle class? Find out with our income calculator The middle class, once the economic stratum of a clear majority of American adults, has steadily contracted in the past five decades.
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