What Exactly Is the “Middle Class”?

There’s no shortage of recent news stories covering the shrinking of the “middle class”. But what exactly is the “middle class”, and who is in it?

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, it turns out that the definition of “middle class” varies greatly, and that “household size” is a major factor in the definition.

Research website howmuch.net took the Pew data and plotted family size against income range, showing graphically how rising family size causes the income range definition of “middle class” to climb higher and higher.

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