Recent Studies Rank New York as One of Most Expensive States to be “Middle Class”

You know it kinda goes without saying but EVERYTHING is expensive. Citizens across the country see it everyday when we go to individual stores and see the total cost of whatever we're buying at the end of our receipts. It is also an election year and as always, the economy and the state of it will be an issue that ranks highly among voters as we get closer and closer to election day.

The economy though is ever changing and the impact of it can be felt at different levels depending on where you live. In recent years numerous studies have been conducted to answer a variety of economic based questions but our question today is "how much in terms of income does someone need to make to be considered "Middle Class" in New York?

What is Middle Class in America Today?

The studies and research we will be focusing on today comes from the Pew Research Center and from an article in Consumer Affairs. Before continuing, those who may be interested in reading the study from Pew Research can do so by clicking the links here and here, in addition you may read the Consumer Affairs piece here. I would thoroughly encourage anyone to read these pieces.

The Pew Research Center gathered a wealth of information on income statistics and how things have changed over the past 50 years and Consumer Affairs used the same "income calculator" tool used by Pew, and an "inflation calculator" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to get their numbers on just how expensive things are in all 50 states.

For our purposes today we will be focusing on the prices here in the Tri-State Area, primarily here in New York. Collectively its common how expensive this area is but you may wanna sit down before you read the actual numbers.

What the Numbers Say

According to Consumer Affairs, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are easily some of the most expensive states to live in, in all of the U.S.A and the threshold to be considered "middle class" is equally as high. In total, to be considered middle class in the state of New York, one need to bring home an annual income of $81,396. That number leaves New York tied for second with Washington D.C.

Coincidentally New Jersey and Connecticut are tied for third on this middle class ranking. In each, state one would need to earn a yearly income of $80,163 to be considered middle class. The state of Massachusetts rounded out the middle class top 5 with an estimated $76,463 yearly income to be middle class. The state that topped the list was Hawaii, needing a yearly income of $82,630, which makes sense when you consider how much product Hawaii must import in to itself.

If you were unsurprised about which states made out the top of this middle class classification list, then you probably won't be surprised about the states which ranked at the bottom of the list. Those states would be Arkansas, Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia. Mississippi actually ranked at the very bottom with needing an estimated yearly average income of $60,431 to be considered middle class.

The study also showed that the national median income of households throughout America was $70,784.

What can be observed through the studies provided is that the economy, the middle class and other affiliated classes have been changing drastically over recent decades and it will continue to change as years go by. The studies also break down that these changes are not just applied to class but also individual demographics of people. Factors such being single or married and education also play incredibly crucial roles.

What is blatantly clear though is that though these numbers will continue to change, the middle class of today is not the same as it was 50 years ago. In comparison, the middle class as a whole is smaller.