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TAMPA, Fla. - If you think you are middle-class, you might want to double-check. According to ConsumerAffairs, increasing inflation, which peaked at 9% in June 2022, played a role in bumping some people out of the middle-class, even though they were in that category in 2020.
Using data from the Pew Research Center, and an inflation calculator from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, ConsumerAffairs came up with the minimum annual income required in 2023 for a family of four to be considered middle-class in each state.
In Florida, according to ConsumerAffairs, a family of four needs to make $67,835 a year to be considered middle-class.
Alabama and Arkansas came in with the lowest minimum income needed at $51,798, while New York and the District of Columbia topped the states, with families needing to make $81,396 to be considered middle-class.
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While the number of middle-class families has remained stable over the past decade, many have struggled with financial insecurity recently and have taken on more debt, according to Oliver Rust with Truflation.
Rust notes that inflation may be a factor in the shrinking middle class, but says it is not the only contributor and adds that while some people are falling out of the middle class into the lower class, some are also moving into the upper class. Plus, he adds that households where wage-earners can work remotely may relocate from expensive states to locations where their money goes further, providing a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. It's also important to consider the aging population, because retirees live off savings and generate little income.
Click here to see how much families need to make in each state to be considered middle-class.
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