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What is considered a middle class wage? The dollar per hour. I'm curious what it is...
It isn't a singular thing. It's a range with common variables.
The most common threshold into "middle class" is earning enough to be
completely self sufficient... including paying some income taxes.
For a single adult, in most of the US, that is close to $30,000. A family of four... close to $60,000.
Some places will be even more and a few less... based mostly on real estate costs there.
At the upper end it's still about maintaining your life from your own earned income.
That life may include Country Clubs, Cadillacs and cruise vacations...
but they're still paying their own way and on their own earned dime.
Last edited by MrRational; 07-10-2013 at 09:09 AM..
I've seen different definitions of what's considered middle class by various economists. Some will look at the median income for the area. Being in Texas, middle class would be around $40k-60k for a single person. Some economists say that $25k-30k is middle class in most places in the U.S. They're mostly looking at the standard of living in comparison to the rest of the world. People who make $25-30k a year can afford a cell phone, high speed internet, and cable where I live.
Yes. I would be living paycheck to paycheck, but I could survive.
...and I wouldn't even need a roommate.
At that level of income... sharing space would be reasonable and even expected.
That $500 a month (or more) from the roomie just became your IRA contribution.
At that level of income... sharing space would be reasonable and even expected.
That $500 a month (or more) from the roomie just became your IRA contribution.
It's going to vary tremendously by location and cost of living.
This.
My wife and I moved to Charlotte, NC from the Baltimore / DC area five years ago. We both worked remotely for our respective companies (with a fair amount of travel), so the relocation from DC to NC was purely a personal choice on our part. When we moved to NC, our salaries stayed the same as they were in DC, and with the cost of living being much lower in Charlotte compared to DC, we found that our money went a lot farther down here.
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