How the American middle class has changed in the past five decades
The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new analysis.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new analysis.
In the United States, the transience of economic status varies significantly across racial and ethnic groups and by level of education.
Among all Asian origin groups in the U.S., Chinese American households had the highest income inequality in 2022.
Fewer than half of Black adults say they have a three-month emergency fund, and some have taken multiple jobs to make ends meet.
About half of U.S. adults lived in middle-income households in 2018, according to our new analysis of government data.
Over the past 50 years, the highest-earning 20% of U.S. households have steadily brought in a larger share of the country’s total income.
38% of parents with children whose K-12 schools closed in the spring said that their child was likely to face digital obstacles in schoolwork.
While the size of the U.S. middle class remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2016, financial gains for middle-income Americans were modest compared with those of higher-income households.
The American middle class is smaller than middle classes across Western Europe, but its income is higher.
In the U.S., the racial and ethnic wealth gap has evolved differently for families at different income levels since the Great Recession.
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