Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground
Among American adults, there are large differences in income status by race and ethnicity
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- The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground
- The middle class is losing ground
- Who is “middle income” and “upper income”?
- Share of adults living in middle-income households is falling
- Growth in income for middle-income households is less than the growth for upper-income households since 1970
- The wealth gap between upper- and middle-income families is growing
- Older people, married couples and black adults improved their income status more than other groups from 1971 to 2015
- Who is middle income?
- Share of adults living in middle-income households is in steady decline, and share in lower- and upper-income households is rising
- Adults in middle-income households are now fewer in number than adults in other households
- Income range for middle-income households and households in other income tiers
- Share of adults living in lowest- and highest-income households has risen the most
- Older people, married couples and black adults improved their income status more than other groups from 1971 to 2015
- Married adults are more likely to be upper income than unmarried adults
- Unmarried women with children are more likely than other groups to be lower income
- Among American adults, there are large differences in income status by race and ethnicity
- U.S.-born adults are higher up in income status than immigrants, except for black adults
- Despite gains in income status, older adults are most likely to be lower income
- College-educated adults are more likely than others to be upper income
- From 1971 to 2014, higher-skilled occupations were among those that rose in income status
- Teachers and salespeople slid down in income status from 2001 to 2014, while other job categories rose
- Big income status gains in some industries contrast with losses in others from 1971 to 2014
- Income status gains in most industry sectors from 2001 to 2014
- Demographics of middle-income adults look like those of U.S. adults overall
- On work-related measures, U.S. middle-income adults rank between lower- and upper-income adults
- Median household income in the U.S. rises faster when adjusted for the decrease in household size since 1970
- Median income of upper-income households has risen more than the median income of middle- and lower-income households from 1970 to 2014
- Incomes rose for all households in each decade from 1970 to 2000, but have languished from 2000 to 2014
- The share of aggregate income held by middle-income households plunged from 1970 to 2014 and is now less than the share held by upper-income households
- The wealth of U.S. families increased from 1983 to 2007, fell sharply since
- There is a large gap in the wealth of upper-income families and other families
- Families in all income tiers lost wealth since 2007, but only upper-income families have started to recover
- The asset portfolios of upper-income families are more diversified
- Families reduced debt in the wake of the Great Recession of 2007-09, but losses in asset values cut deeper
- Families in all income tiers accumulated debt at a rapid pace from 1983 to 2007