The middle class has traditionally been the biggest chunk of America’s economic pie, but things may be changing now, especially given the way things have gone over the past few years. Incomes have been dropping and costs have been rising, putting the squeeze on the middle class. This is true all over the country, but nowhere is it more pronounced than in Washington State!
Here are Five Fast Facts on the shrinking middle class in the Evergreen State:
- 📉 Going Down - In the last 20 or so years, the middle class has made up a lower and lower share of all income earners, from 60% down to 50%. Some of this is people coming out the wealthy top end, but far more is from people being pushed out the bottom end into a lower economic situation.
- 😣 Worst Case Scenario - Hawaii tops the list of how much income it takes to be “middle class” with at least $83k, followed by Washington DC and New York at $81k, and Massachusetts at $76k. Washington State is not far behind, with an income of at least $74k needed to be in the middle class.
- 👍 The Most Middle - The states with the lowest income needed to be considered “middle class” are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, West Virginia, and Mississippi, with an income of $60k. Yay, low cost of living!
- 📈💸 Probable Cause - The biggest culprit of the shrinkage in the middle class is, as you’ve probably guessed, inflation. It’s seen historic levels in the last few years, peaking at 9% in 2022. This has forced a lot of middle class families downward and out of the “middle” range. Thank you, government spending!
- ✖️ Multipliers - Keep in mind these numbers are for single people. For middle class families, it’s obviously much higher. And there’s a trend for tech-focused cities like San Francisco or Seattle to have a premium, as well. For example, in Seattle, the range of incomes goes from $74k all the way up to $221k!
🔥Bottom line: There’s a lot of gray area in all of these numbers, of course. There isn’t a set definition of middle class, it’s just a concept that most people generally understand - it’s normal folks doing normal things the normal way. Unfortunately, all that normalcy is not quite enough nowadays, and that’s causing problems for lots of people!
What do you think will help the middle class?
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