America's Upper Middle Class Has Experienced Incredible Growth
- 8 years ago
Many wealth-related studies tend to focus on the elite one percent of earners, but a recently published report has found another group to be prospering in America as well.
Many wealth-related studies tend to focus on the elite one percent of earners, but a recently published report has found another group to be prospering in America as well.
In the new research, Stephen Rose with the Urban Institute has determined that “the size of the upper middle class grew from 12.9 percent of the population in 1979 to 29.4 percent in 2014.”
He defines this segment as a three-person family with a total household income of $100,000 to $350,000, according to CNN Money.
This amount is “at least double the U.S. median household income and about five times the poverty level.”
The growth has been attributed to the success of college-educated professionals with largely white-collar jobs, notes CBS News.
As such, Rose found that the rich and upper middle class controlled 63 percent of the incomes in 2014 compared to just 30 percent in 1979.
And though the gain has come at the expense of the middle class, the report indicates an improvement in living standards--such as bigger homes--for most Americans.
Many wealth-related studies tend to focus on the elite one percent of earners, but a recently published report has found another group to be prospering in America as well.
In the new research, Stephen Rose with the Urban Institute has determined that “the size of the upper middle class grew from 12.9 percent of the population in 1979 to 29.4 percent in 2014.”
He defines this segment as a three-person family with a total household income of $100,000 to $350,000, according to CNN Money.
This amount is “at least double the U.S. median household income and about five times the poverty level.”
The growth has been attributed to the success of college-educated professionals with largely white-collar jobs, notes CBS News.
As such, Rose found that the rich and upper middle class controlled 63 percent of the incomes in 2014 compared to just 30 percent in 1979.
And though the gain has come at the expense of the middle class, the report indicates an improvement in living standards--such as bigger homes--for most Americans.