When it comes to economics, the “middle class” is a huge group of people with pretty decent income but not enough to be considered wealthy. Traditionally, most Michiganders have been in that big group, but that trend is changing now. So what exactly is a middle class family income here in Michigan, and what’s changing about it?
Here are Five Fast Facts on Michigan’s middle class:
- 📝 Our Place - In Michigan, a family of four needs at least $64k in income to be considered middle class. That’s about 10% less than the national average, and only the 28th best income in the nation. Not looking good…
- 😣 The Lowest Middle - For the LOWEST income needed to be considered middle class, states like Virginia, Mississippi, West Virginia, Arizona, and Arkansas lead the way, with an income of about $52k per family. But do you really want to live there?
- 😀 The Highest Middle - On the flip side, the highest income needed to be considered middle class can be found in Hawaii with $83k, followed by Washington DC and New York at $81k. I guess it’s true what they say about location, location, location…
- 📉 The Big Trend - The middle class has been earning a smaller piece of the pie for the last two decades. In the mid-2000s 60% of the income in America went to the middle class; in 2021 that number had shrunk to just 50%. A few are moving themselves from the middle class up into higher incomes, but more are falling downward.
- 🤔 Some Splainin’ - There could be several reasons for this. Inflation is certainly a factor, as people can’t afford things now that they could just a few years ago. There are a lot of other theories, too, from a deliberate effort to consolidate the nation’s wealth in the top 1% to the lingering effects of the Great Recession in 2008. Much like children agreeing upon what they want for dinner, economists have a variety of opinions.
🔥Bottom line: Keep in mind we’re talking about a huge gray area here. There’s no formal definition of middle class - it’s really just a concept where most normal folks do normal things the normal way. Too bad normal just doesn’t stretch as far now as it used to.
What do you think would help the middle class?
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