Middle Class Income Range

Calculating middle class income range of a country is indeed a very tedious task. However, at the same time, it is extremely essential as a growing middle class symbolizes prosperity and economic growth. Middle class income in a country varies from one city to another. So, we should be aware of the factors which are considered to determine the income in a particular place. In the next paragraph, let us know these factors for a better understanding.

Factors Affecting Income of the Middle Class

A person living in a particular city is said to be in the 'middle class' bracket if his income fits into a range created by economists by studying the economic characteristics of the city. This implies that the income would be higher in the highly developed and advanced cities as compared to the lesser developed cities and rural areas. This is because the cost incurred on living and meeting basic needs is much higher in the developed cities than the underdeveloped ones. A person residing in a metropolitan city would have to spend a substantial amount of his income on home rents, transport, health care facilities, entertainment etc. For instance, the income would be higher in expensive cities like New York and Los Angeles. Whether a person would fall in the middle class category also depends on size of the family.

Incomes of Middle Class People

Middle class income is believed to be between USD 35,000 to USD 50,000 per year approximately as per the studies conducted by various institutions and economists. As per some other studies, this could be between USD 22,000 to USD 65,000 per year. In some of the expensive cities, people earning up to USD 70,000 per year would also be included in the middle class bracket.

The middle class is further divided into the upper middle class and the lower middle class. The upper middle class usually consists of people having substantial assets and household earnings which are more than USD 1,00,000 per year. People in this class occupy considerably higher positions in their offices and are financially more stable than many people of their country. These are the people who see a considerable rise in their incomes due to rapid economic growth of the nation. They have higher disposable incomes than many of their fellow countrymen. Lower middle class consists of people who have basic educational qualifications and have an income between USD 30,000 to USD 60,000 per year. Lower middle class consists of a large part of the total population of a country. The lower middle class struggles to get to the level of the upper middle class, which in turn aims at entering rich or elite class.

The income range has seen a slow and steady rise in many countries of the world due to increased job opportunities. Asian countries like India and China have a middle class which is growing at a fast pace and adding to the growth of these countries. High incomes help governments collect more taxes and utilize this money for infrastructure development and public welfare. So, hoping that you are satisfied with the data in this article, I would like to sign off here.