Here's how much you have to earn to be
considered middle class
The American middle class keeps
shrinking.
"The share of American adults in
middle-income households also decreased, from 55% in 2000 to 51% in
2014," Pew Research Center reports. "At the same time, the share of
adults in the upper-income tier increased from 17% to 20%."
Although income is just one part of
class, it's a crucial element and the one that's easy to measure
and track.
So just how much do you need to
make to qualify as middle class these days?
Pew, which defines middle class as
adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the
national median ($55,775 as of 2016), details the national
middle-income range for various household sizes.
Here's the breakdown of how much
you have to earn each year to qualify as middle-income, depending
on the size of your family:
Household of one: $24,042 to
$72,126
Household of two: $34,000 to
$102,001
Household of three: $41,641 to
$124,925
Household of four: $48,083 to
$144,251
Household of five: $53,759 to
$161,277
据调查，美国的中产阶级正在不断萎缩。
皮尤研究中心报告指出，在中等收入家庭中，成年人所占的比例也从2000年的55%下降到2014年的51%。同时，成年人在高收入阶层的比例从17%上升到了20%。
虽然收入只是判断阶层的一部分因素，但它是一个关键点，也是最容易调查和追踪的因素。
那么在当今美国的社会中，你需要收入多少才能成为中产阶级呢？
皮尤研究中心将中产阶级定义为家庭年收入是全国收入中位数的三分之二左右（2016年的数字为55775美元），并详细列出了全国不同家庭规模的中等收入范围。
以下成为中产阶级的明细，具体取决于家庭的规模：
单人家庭：24042元至72126元
二人家庭：34000元至102001元
三人家庭：41641元至124925元
四人家庭：48083元至144251元
五人家庭：53759元至161277元
（翻译：曹昀杰）
信息来源：
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/13/heres-how-much-you-have-to-earn-to-be-considered-middle-class.html