The middle class could use some rebranding considering that people who earn a very wide range of income, from around $50,000 to $150,000, are often all lumped into the same category.
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A general rule of thumb is that being middle class means to earn two-thirds to double the average income of a region or city. Thus, whether you qualify as middle class depends on where you live as well as how much you earn.
To find out the cities where it takes six figures to be middle class, GOBankingRates used the 2022 American Community Survey as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. To be considered, the city had to have over 10,000 households. Here’s a closer look at the list.
Saratoga, California
Median household income: $237,730
The middle class ranges from $158,471 at the low end to $475,460 at the high end.
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Cupertino, California
Median household income: $223,667
The middle class ranges from $149,096 at the low end to $447,334 at the high end.
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San Carlos, California
Median household income: $219,413
The middle class ranges from $146,261 at the low end to $438,826 at the high end.
Potomac, Maryland
Median household income: $218,710
The middle class ranges from $145,792 at the low end to $437,420 at the high end.
Sammamish, Washington
Median household income: $215,047
The middle class ranges from $143,350 at the low end to $430,094 at the high end.
Palo Alto, California
Median household income: $214,118
The middle class ranges from $142,731 at the low end to $428,236 at the high end.
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Danville, California
Median household income: $209,518
The middle class ranges from $139,665 at the low end to $419,036 at the high end.
Lexington, Massachusetts
Median household income: $206,323
The middle class ranges from $137,535 at the low end to $412,646 at the high end.
Needham, Massachusetts
Median household income: $206,261
The middle class ranges from $137,494 at the low end to $412,522 at the high end.
Westfield, New Jersey
Median household income: $203,235
The middle class ranges from $135,476 at the low end to $406,470 at the high end.
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Menlo Park, California
Median household income: $198,273
The middle class ranges from $132,169 at the low end to $396,546 at the high end.
Los Gatos, California
Median household income: $198,117
The middle class ranges from $132,065 at the low end to $396,234 at the high end.
Foster City, California
Median household income: $191,267
The middle class ranges from $127,499 at the low end to $382,534 at the high end.
Dublin, California
Median household income: $191,039
The middle class ranges from $127,347 at the low end to $382,078 at the high end.
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San Ramon, California
Median household income: $190,829
The middle class ranges from $127,207 at the low end to $381,658 at the high end.
Parkland, Florida
Median household income: $188,544
The middle class ranges from $125,683 at the low end to $377,088 at the high end.
Manhattan Beach, California
Median household income: $187,217
The middle class ranges from $124,799 at the low end to $374,434 at the high end.
Belmont, California
Median household income: $185,944
The middle class ranges from $123,950 at the low end to $371,888 at the high end.
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Bethesda, Maryland
Median household income: $185,546
The middle class ranges from $123,685 at the low end to $371,092 at the high end.
Wilmette, Illinois
Median household income: $183,750
The middle class ranges from $122,488 at the low end to $367,500 at the high end.
South Riding, Virginia
Median household income: $183,056
The middle class ranges from $122,025 at the low end to $366,112 at the high end.
Pleasanton, California
Median household income: $181,639
The middle class ranges from $121,081 at the low end to $363,278 at the high end.
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Brentwood, Tennessee
Median household income: $181,576
The middle class ranges from $121,039 at the low end to $363,152 at the high end.
Newton, Massachusetts
Median household income: $176,373
The middle class ranges from $117,570 at the low end to $352,746 at the high end.
Leawood, Kansas
Median household income: $174,779
The middle class ranges from $116,508 at the low end to $349,558 at the high end.
Sunnyvale, California
Median household income: $174,506
The middle class ranges from $116,326 at the low end to $349,012 at the high end.
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Mountain View, California
Median household income: $174,156
The middle class ranges from $116,092 at the low end to $348,312 at the high end.
Burke, Virginia
Median household income: $172,432
The middle class ranges from $114,943 at the low end to $344,864 at the high end.
Fremont, California
Median household income: $169,023
The middle class ranges from $112,671 at the low end to $338,046 at the high end.
Commack, New York
Median household income: $168,804
The middle class ranges from $112,525 at the low end to $337,608 at the high end.
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New City, New York
Median household income: $168,672
The middle class ranges from $112,437 at the low end to $337,344 at the high end.
Hoboken, New Jersey
Median household income: $168,137
The middle class ranges from $112,080 at the low end to $336,274 at the high end.
Milpitas, California
Median household income: $166,769
The middle class ranges from $111,168 at the low end to $333,538 at the high end.
Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Median household income: $166,747
The middle class ranges from $111,154 at the low end to $333,494 at the high end.
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Olney, Maryland
Median household income: $166,541
The middle class ranges from $111,016 at the low end to $333,082 at the high end.
Burlingame, California
Median household income: $165,940
The middle class ranges from $110,616 at the low end to $331,880 at the high end.
Santa Clara, California
Median household income: $165,352
The middle class ranges from $110,224at the low end to $330,704 at the high end.
Belmont, Massachusetts
Median household income: $164,918
The middle class ranges from $109,934 at the low end to $329,836 at the high end.
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Severna Park, Maryland
Median household income: $164,288
The middle class ranges from $109,514 at the low end to $328,576 at the high end.
Linton Hall, Virginia
Median household income: $163,993
The middle class ranges from $109,318 at the low end to $327,986 at the high end.
Keller, Texas
Median household income: $162,094
The middle class ranges from $108,052 at the low end to $324,188 at the high end.
Highland Park, Illinois
Median household income: $159,567
The middle class ranges from $106,367 at the low end to $319,134 at the high end.
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Newark, California
Median household income: $159,465
The middle class ranges from $106,299 at the low end to $318,930 at the high end.
Dublin, Ohio
Median household income: $158,363
The middle class ranges from $105,565 at the low end to $316,726 at the high end.
Oakton, Virginia
Median household income: $158,343
The middle class ranges from $105,551 at the low end to $316,686 at the high end.
Bethany, Oregon
Median household income: $156,512
The middle class ranges from $104,331 at the low end to313,024 at the high end.
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El Dorado Hills
Median household income: $156,126
The middle class ranges from $104,074 at the low end to $312,252 at the high end.
Redmond Washington
Median household income: $155,287
The middle class ranges from $103,514 at the low end to $310,574 at the high end.
Erie, Colorado
Median household income: $154,509
The middle class ranges from $102,996 at the low end to $309,018 at the high end.
Flower Mound, Texas
Median household income: $154,471
The middle class ranges from $102,970 at the low end to $308,942 at the high end.
Photos are just for illustration purposes; they may not depict the exact town.
Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates used the 2022 American Community Survey as conducted by the US Census Bureau to find all the cities where one must make above $100k to be considered middle-class. For this piece, GOBankingRates defined middle-class income as two-thirds to double an area’s income. To be considered the city had to have over 10,000 households. All data was collected and up to date as of May 6, 2024.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 50 Cities Where It Takes Six Figures To Be Middle Class in 2024
