How much do you need to make to be middle class in each US state?
An older neighborhood scene in Sanford, Florida. Creative Commons photo by Steven Martin. Click to see the source.
Last week, Business Insider published an article titled How much you have to earn to be considered middle class in every US state. The meat of the article was contained in the chart pictured on the right (you can click on it to see the original article and the chart at full size).
The problem with the chart is that it’s a graphic. All you can do is read it. You can’t copy-and-paste them so that you can do your own math or check Business Insider’s math; if you want to work with the numbers, you have to a fair bit of typing.
I thought I’d fix that. I opened up a new spreadsheet at typed in the states and corresponding median household incomes listed on Business Insider’s chart, and had the spreadsheet do the rest of the math. Better still, I saved the spreadsheet as a .CSV file so you can import them into your favorite number-crunching tool and have at them.
Table 1: What your household needs to earn to be middle class in each U.S. state
| State | Median annual household income | Median monthly household income | Middle class lower bound (two-thirds of median) | Middle class upper bound (twice median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | $ 72,483 | $ 6,040 | $ 48,564 | $ 144,966 |
| Alaska | $ 72,237 | $ 6,020 | $ 48,399 | $ 144,474 |
| New Jersey | $ 70,165 | $ 5,847 | $ 47,011 | $ 140,330 |
| Hawaii | $ 68,020 | $ 5,668 | $ 45,573 | $ 136,040 |
| D.C. | $ 67,572 | $ 5,631 | $ 45,273 | $ 135,144 |
| Connecticut | $ 67,098 | $ 5,592 | $ 44,956 | $ 134,196 |
| Massachusetts | $ 66,768 | $ 5,564 | $ 44,735 | $ 133,536 |
| New Hampshire | $ 64,230 | $ 5,353 | $ 43,034 | $ 128,460 |
| Virginia | $ 62,666 | $ 5,222 | $ 41,986 | $ 125,332 |
| Minnesota | $ 60,702 | $ 5,059 | $ 40,670 | $ 121,404 |
| California | $ 60,190 | $ 5,016 | $ 40,327 | $ 120,380 |
| Utah | $ 59,770 | $ 4,981 | $ 40,046 | $ 119,540 |
| Colorado | $ 58,823 | $ 4,902 | $ 39,411 | $ 117,646 |
| Wyoming | $ 58,752 | $ 4,896 | $ 39,364 | $ 117,504 |
| Washington | $ 58,405 | $ 4,867 | $ 39,131 | $ 116,810 |
| Delaware | $ 57,846 | $ 4,821 | $ 38,757 | $ 115,692 |
| New York | $ 57,369 | $ 4,781 | $ 38,437 | $ 114,738 |
| Illinois | $ 56,210 | $ 4,684 | $ 37,661 | $ 112,420 |
| Rhode Island | $ 55,902 | $ 4,659 | $ 37,454 | $ 111,804 |
| North Dakota | $ 55,709 | $ 4,642 | $ 37,325 | $ 111,418 |
| Vermont | $ 52,578 | $ 4,382 | $ 35,227 | $ 105,156 |
| Iowa | $ 52,229 | $ 4,352 | $ 34,993 | $ 104,458 |
| Pennsylvania | $ 52,007 | $ 4,334 | $ 34,845 | $ 104,014 |
| Texas | $ 51,704 | $ 4,309 | $ 34,642 | $ 103,408 |
| Wisconsin | $ 51,467 | $ 4,289 | $ 34,483 | $ 102,934 |
| Nebraska | $ 51,440 | $ 4,287 | $ 34,465 | $ 102,880 |
| Nevada | $ 51,230 | $ 4,269 | $ 34,324 | $ 102,460 |
| Kansas | $ 50,972 | $ 4,248 | $ 34,151 | $ 101,944 |
| Oregon | $ 50,251 | $ 4,188 | $ 33,668 | $ 100,502 |
| South Dakota | $ 48,947 | $ 4,079 | $ 32,794 | $ 97,894 |
| Arizona | $ 48,510 | $ 4,043 | $ 32,502 | $ 97,020 |
| Michigan | $ 48,273 | $ 4,023 | $ 32,343 | $ 96,546 |
| Ohio | $ 48,081 | $ 4,007 | $ 32,214 | $ 96,162 |
| Georgia | $ 47,829 | $ 3,986 | $ 32,045 | $ 95,658 |
| Indiana | $ 47,529 | $ 3,961 | $ 31,844 | $ 95,058 |
| Maine | $ 46,974 | $ 3,915 | $ 31,473 | $ 93,948 |
| Montana | $ 46,972 | $ 3,914 | $ 31,471 | $ 93,944 |
| Missouri | $ 46,931 | $ 3,911 | $ 31,444 | $ 93,862 |
| Idaho | $ 46,783 | $ 3,899 | $ 31,345 | $ 93,566 |
| Florida | $ 46,036 | $ 3,836 | $ 30,844 | $ 92,072 |
| North Carolina | $ 45,906 | $ 3,826 | $ 30,757 | $ 91,812 |
| Oklahoma | $ 45,690 | $ 3,808 | $ 30,612 | $ 91,380 |
| Tennessee | $ 44,297 | $ 3,691 | $ 29,679 | $ 88,594 |
| Louisiana | $ 44,164 | $ 3,680 | $ 29,590 | $ 88,328 |
| South Carolina | $ 44,163 | $ 3,680 | $ 29,589 | $ 88,326 |
| New Mexico | $ 43,872 | $ 3,656 | $ 29,394 | $ 87,744 |
| Kentucky | $ 43,399 | $ 3,617 | $ 29,077 | $ 86,798 |
| Alabama | $ 42,849 | $ 3,571 | $ 28,709 | $ 85,698 |
| West Virginia | $ 41,253 | $ 3,438 | $ 27,640 | $ 82,506 |
| Arkansas | $ 40,511 | $ 3,376 | $ 27,142 | $ 81,022 |
| Mississippi | $ 37,963 | $ 3,164 | $ 25,435 | $ 75,926 |
Want this data? Download it! [3 KB CSV file]
How much do you need to make to be middle class in the 50 biggest US metro areas?
Cass Street Bridge and Downtown Tampa Reflected in the Hillsborough River. Creative Commons photo by Matthew Paulson. Click to see the source.
Yesterday, Business Insider published a similar article, Here’s what you have to earn to be considered middle class in the 50 biggest US cities. Once again, they included a chart, once again, that chart was in graphic format, and once again, I did a little work to make the data more usable. This time, I went straight to their source, the US Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey. After figuring out their crazy user interface, I was able to extract the information I needed and turn it into the table and CSV file below.
Table 2: What your household needs to earn to be middle class in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas
| Metropolitan area | Total estimated households | Median estimated annual household income | Middle class lower bound (two-thirds of estimated median) | Middle class upper bound (twice estimated median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
7,080,691 | $ 65,786 | $ 44,077 | $ 131,572 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
4,251,495 | $ 58,869 | $ 39,442 | $ 117,738 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,450,331 | $ 60,564 | $ 40,578 | $ 121,128 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,406,092 | $ 57,398 | $ 38,457 | $ 114,796 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,218,312 | $ 60,482 | $ 40,523 | $ 120,964 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,158,139 | $ 57,366 | $ 38,435 | $ 114,732 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
2,133,062 | $ 90,149 | $ 60,400 | $ 180,298 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
2,032,438 | $ 46,946 | $ 31,454 | $ 93,892 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
1,954,348 | $ 55,733 | $ 37,341 | $ 111,466 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 1,763,437 | $ 72,907 | $ 48,848 | $ 145,814 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 1,658,085 | $ 51,857 | $ 34,744 | $ 103,714 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,654,554 | $ 79,624 | $ 53,348 | $ 159,248 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 1,553,429 | $ 51,847 | $ 34,737 | $ 103,694 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 1,392,337 | $ 67,479 | $ 45,211 | $ 134,958 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
1,332,110 | $ 67,194 | $ 45,020 | $ 134,388 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
1,297,675 | $ 53,220 | $ 35,657 | $ 106,440 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL |
1,139,923 | $ 45,880 | $ 30,740 | $ 91,760 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 1,105,652 | $ 54,449 | $ 36,481 | $ 108,898 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 1,093,386 | $ 61,426 | $ 41,155 | $ 122,852 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 1,037,921 | $ 68,455 | $ 45,865 | $ 136,910 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 1,035,096 | $ 62,760 | $ 42,049 | $ 125,520 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 988,106 | $ 51,291 | $ 34,365 | $ 102,582 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
881,822 | $ 59,168 | $ 39,643 | $ 118,336 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC |
859,709 | $ 51,251 | $ 34,338 | $ 102,502 |
| Cleveland-Elyria, OH | 844,428 | $ 49,358 | $ 33,070 | $ 98,716 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 822,005 | $ 53,378 | $ 35,763 | $ 106,756 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 798,618 | $ 56,248 | $ 37,686 | $ 112,496 |
| Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA |
792,639 | $ 57,027 | $ 38,208 | $ 114,054 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 780,174 | $ 46,962 | $ 31,465 | $ 93,924 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 778,939 | $ 51,716 | $ 34,650 | $ 103,432 |
| Columbus, OH | 750,394 | $ 54,079 | $ 36,233 | $ 108,158 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN |
739,503 | $ 51,087 | $ 34,228 | $ 102,174 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
713,577 | $ 51,057 | $ 34,208 | $ 102,114 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 688,938 | $ 61,750 | $ 41,373 | $ 123,500 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN |
662,187 | $ 51,996 | $ 34,837 | $ 103,992 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
636,628 | $ 91,533 | $ 61,327 | $ 183,066 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
625,540 | $ 56,161 | $ 37,628 | $ 112,322 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI |
622,962 | $ 51,957 | $ 34,811 | $ 103,914 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 618,975 | $ 55,055 | $ 36,887 | $ 110,110 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 516,144 | $ 51,495 | $ 34,502 | $ 102,990 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 494,276 | $ 50,905 | $ 34,106 | $ 101,810 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 493,315 | $ 50,136 | $ 33,591 | $ 100,272 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 492,311 | $ 46,962 | $ 31,465 | $ 93,924 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 479,366 | $ 45,981 | $ 30,807 | $ 91,962 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY |
469,897 | $ 50,548 | $ 33,867 | $ 101,096 |
| Richmond, VA | 467,399 | $ 57,286 | $ 38,382 | $ 114,572 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 464,315 | $ 66,356 | $ 44,459 | $ 132,712 |
| Raleigh, NC | 449,589 | $ 61,710 | $ 41,346 | $ 123,420 |
| Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 431,462 | $ 48,328 | $ 32,380 | $ 96,656 |
| Rochester, NY | 425,603 | $ 51,857 | $ 34,744 | $ 103,714 |
| Tucson, AZ | 391,975 | $ 43,824 | $ 29,362 | $ 87,648 |
Want this data? Download it! [5 KB CSV file]
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So I’m rich? I don’t feel rich…