What is Middle Class and Upper Class to you?

[JohnSmith]

What is Middle Class and Upper Class to you?

I grew up in what I would call working middle class. However, my wife and I are college graduates with decent jobs so I now consider ourselves Middle Class proper. We will both probably get Graduate degrees at some point. I would probably then teach at a college part time.

[MysteriousWays]

Middle class means that you can afford to get basic essentials (living frugally) without living paycheck to paycheck. Things like college for children will still be prohibitive in many cases though, at least in the U.S. (not so much true for many other countries). Graduate degrees seldom take people from middle to upper class, but from middle class to perhaps slightly higher in the middle class. The cash advantage for having a graduate degree is just not that large in many cases. Most, but not all, people in the U.S. would need college degrees to viably be in the middle class these days. But this would typically be families who can afford to live in a nice area, have two cars, mostly not luxurious items, but perhaps a few luxurious "things."

Upper middle class is what I typically think of as modern "professionals" where one still has to rely on salary from a job, etc. to get by. Folks in this income strata typically live in cities in the U.S. in their 20s and in their 30s, move to suburbia to pursue better public school opportunities for their children. Types of jobs fitting in this: doctors (some are upper class, but most are upper middle IMO), "better off" attorneys, dentists, perhaps school principals, and perhaps engineers with manager roles in a company. So you'd have to work full time, but would likely be able to afford to help your children to go to universities, etc., could help with major health care expenses your children might have without it hurting too, too much probably.

True upper class is when you can get by living primarily on passive and/or investment income, and where one would not need to work to survive. Most folks in these brackets would primarily earn money from rental properties and/or investments, therefore paying the capital gains tax rate in the U.S. generally. So in practice, it is typically the upper middle class, and not the upper, by my definition, that pay the highest taxes in the U.S.

[Kouros]

Middle Class: 9-5 job, ok wage, "Might treat myself tonight", packs lunch for work every day, "I gotta manage my finances"

Upper Class:

[JohnSmith]

Middle class means that you can afford to get basic essentials (living frugally) without living paycheck to paycheck. Things like college for children will still be prohibitive in many cases though, at least in the U.S. (not so much true for many other countries). Graduate degrees seldom take people from middle to upper class, but from middle class to perhaps slightly higher in the middle class. The cash advantage for having a graduate degree is just not that large in many cases. Most, but not all, people in the U.S. would need college degrees to viably be in the middle class these days. But this would typically be families who can afford to live in a nice area, have two cars, mostly not luxurious items, but perhaps a few luxurious "things."

Upper middle class is what I typically think of as modern "professionals" where one still has to rely on salary from a job, etc. to get by. Folks in this income strata typically live in cities in the U.S. in their 20s and in their 30s, move to suburbia to pursue better public school opportunities for their children. Types of jobs fitting in this: doctors (some are upper class, but most are upper middle IMO), "better off" attorneys, dentists, perhaps school principals, and perhaps engineers with manager roles in a company. So you'd have to work full time, but would likely be able to afford to help your children to go to universities, etc., could help with major health care expenses your children might have without it hurting too, too much probably.

True upper class is when you can get by living primarily on passive and/or investment income, and where one would not need to work to survive. Most folks in these brackets would primarily earn money from rental properties and/or investments, therefore paying the capital gains tax rate in the U.S. generally. So in practice, it is typically the upper middle class, and not the upper, by my definition, that pay the highest taxes in the U.S.

The one thing that people also do not realize is the advantage government employees have with fringe benefits such as pensions and Cadillac healthcare plans. Some even get paid all their sick time when they retire. I think government employees in some ways can have an upper class life style without necessarily a large salary due to fringe benefits.

[MysteriousWays]

The one thing that people also do not realize is the advantage government employees have with fringe benefits such as pensions and Cadillac healthcare plans. Some even get paid all their sick time when they retire. I think government employees in some ways can have an upper class life style without necessarily a large salary due to fringe benefits.

It is probably not enough to pull someone from middle to upper class, but possibly from middle to borderline upper middle. Certainly in terms of healthcare costs, it helps substantially. Pensions, it varies hugely on the state.

[JohnSmith]

It is probably not enough to pull someone from middle to upper class, but possibly from middle to borderline upper middle. Certainly in terms of healthcare costs, it helps substantially. Pensions, it varies hugely on the state.

These are luxuries not many American workers have anymore and they were essential for a upper middle class life style especially in old age.
Pensions and Good Healthcare Benefits provide a person an advantage for a decent life, unless you are very wealthy.

[Bobby Martnen]

What is Middle Class and Upper Class to you?

I grew up in what I would call working middle class. However, my wife and I are college graduates with decent jobs so I now consider ourselves Middle Class proper. We will both probably get Graduate degrees at some point. I would probably then teach at a college part time.

What do you want to teach at college?


My family is upper-middle class, and I hope that once I get out into the working world, I can maintain at least that standard of living, if not become upper upper class.

But it's hard to make a good living as a musician.

[ian123]

Middle Class:
Social class usually comprising of white-collar (non-manual) workers, lower-level managers, and small business owners, often constituting about one-third of the employed population of a country. The income of this class is higher than that of the working-class but lower than that of the upper-middle class (doctors, engineers, lawyers, middle-size business owners) and upper class.

Upper Class:
Social class that can be distinguished from the classes beneath it (middle class and working class) by its influence, power, and wealth. Commonly only one percent or less of the population belongs to the upper class but it often controls one-third to two-thirds of the national wealth.

[QUICAS]

The reality of my country
Rich: above 20.000 reais
Upper middle class: above 8.000 reais
Middle class: above 4.000 reais
Low middle class: above 2000 reais
Poors: Anything lower

[Polish phenotypes]

Middle Class: 9-5 job, ok wage, "Might treat myself tonight", packs lunch for work every day, "I gotta manage my finances"

Upper Class:

Actually I would disagree because there are various levels within the middle class.

I think Patrick Bateman, as he is portrayed in the film, would be a higher-middle class yuppie (but still a middle class person), whereas a genuinely upper class would be someone like Donald Trump. You could argue that what makes Patrick Bateman upper class is his family background (i.e. his family already being multi-millionaires), but the investment banking job itself in M&A puts him in the middle class financial services industry professional workforce (upper-middle).