The State of the Asian American Middle Class
The share of Asian Americans in the U.S. middle class has held steady since 2010, while the share in the upper-income tier has grown.
Rakesh Kochhar is a senior researcher at Pew Research Center. He is an expert on trends in employment, income and wealth. His research has focused on the American and global middle classes and the economic well-being of white, black, Hispanic, Asian and immigrant workers. Prior to joining Pew Research Center, he was senior economist at Joel Popkin and Company, where he served as a consultant to government agencies, private firms, international agencies and labor unions. Kochhar received his doctorate in economics from Brown University. He has appeared on numerous media outlets, including NPR, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. He has testified before Congress and regularly speaks at professional, academic and business conferences.
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The State of the American Middle Class
As the financial divide has grown, a smaller share of Americans now live in middle-class households. Here are key facts about this group.
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Wealth Surged in the Pandemic, but Debt Endures for Poorer Black and Hispanic Families
About one-in-four Black households and one-in-seven Hispanic households had no wealth or were in debt in 2021, compared with about one-in-ten U.S. households overall.
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Which U.S. Workers Are More Exposed to AI on Their Jobs?
In 2022, 19% of American workers were in jobs that are the most exposed to artificial intelligence, in which the most important activities may be either replaced or assisted by AI. Women, Asian, college-educated and higher-paid workers have more exposure to AI, but workers in the most exposed industries are more likely to say AI will help more than hurt them personally.
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The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap
The difference between the earnings of men and women has barely closed in the United States in the past two decades. This gap persists even as women today are more likely than men to have graduated from college, suggesting other factors are at play such as parenthood and other family needs.
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Majority of U.S. Workers Changing Jobs Are Seeing Real Wage Gains
Roughly one-in-five workers say they are very or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next six months, but only about a third of these workers think it would be easy to find one.
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Black and Hispanic Americans, those with less education are more likely to fall out of the middle class each year
In the United States, the transience of economic status varies significantly across racial and ethnic groups and by level of education.
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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.
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COVID-19 Pandemic Pinches Finances of America’s Lower- and Middle-Income Families
Nearly one-in-five middle-income families report receiving unemployment benefits in 2020.
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Trust in America: How do Americans view economic inequality?
Amid rising inequality, many Americans feel that the U.S. economic system is unfair and generally favors powerful special interests.
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