Study says you can earn over $200,000 and still be middle class in these 5 US states

A new analysis of household incomes across the United States shows that being considered “middle class” can mean very different things depending on where you live.

The study by SmartAsset, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, defines the middle class as households earning between two-thirds and twice the median household income in their area. Under that measure, a household can earn more than $200,000 a year and still fall within the middle class in some of the country’s wealthiest states.



Massachusetts has the highest upper limit for the middle class, at $209,656 a year. New Jersey follows at $208,588, while Maryland has an upper threshold of $205,810. Hawaii and California round out the five states where households earning more than $200,000 can still be considered middle class, with upper limits of $201,490 and $200,298, respectively.

The states where $200,000 can still be middle class

Massachusetts has a median household income of $104,828, putting its middle-class range between $69,885 and $209,656.

In New Jersey, the median household income is $104,294, with the middle-class range running from $69,529 to $208,588. Maryland follows with a median household income of $102,905 and a middle-class range of $68,603 to $205,810.


Hawaii has a median household income of $100,745, producing a middle-class range of $67,163 to $201,490. California has a median household income of $100,149, with the range extending from $66,766 to $200,298.

Other states with high middle-class thresholds include New Hampshire, Washington, Colorado, Utah and Connecticut.

Mississippi has the lowest middle-class range

At the other end of the income scale, Mississippi has the lowest statewide middle-class range in the study, from $39,418 to $118,254.

West Virginia follows with a range of $40,532 to $121,596. Louisiana's middle-class range runs from $40,657 to $121,972, while Arkansas has a range of $41,404 to $124,212. Kentucky rounds out the five states with the lowest ranges, from $43,017 to $129,052.


Mississippi's median household income is $59,127. West Virginia's is $60,798, Louisiana's is $60,986, Arkansas' is $62,106 and Kentucky's is $64,526.

The figures show how dramatically the definition of middle class can shift across the country. A salary that places a household toward the upper end of the middle class in one state may not qualify as middle class at all in another.

Cities show an even wider gap

The differences become even more striking when the analysis looks at individual cities.

San Jose, California, has the highest upper threshold among the cities examined. Its middle-class range stretches from $98,817 to $296,452, meaning a household earning nearly $300,000 a year can still fall within the study's middle-class definition.

Irvine, California, ranks second, with a range of $97,154 to $291,462. Frisco, Texas, comes next, with an upper limit of $290,888.

San Francisco has a middle-class range of $93,201 to $279,602, while Arlington, Virginia, has an upper limit of $267,164.

The top 10 cities by upper middle-class income threshold are:

• San Jose, California — up to $296,452
• Irvine, California — up to $291,462
• Frisco, Texas — up to $290,888
• San Francisco, California — up to $279,602
• Arlington, Virginia — up to $267,164
• Gilbert, Arizona — up to $249,936
• Seattle, Washington — up to $237,490
• Plano, Texas — up to $231,802
• Enterprise, Nevada — up to $222,256
• San Diego, California — up to $222,064

The high thresholds largely reflect the higher household incomes in these cities, where housing, transportation and other everyday expenses can also be substantially higher.

Some cities have a middle-class ceiling below $110,000

The picture is very different in several other American cities.

Cleveland, Ohio, has the lowest entry point in the study, with a middle-class range of $28,922 to $86,766. Toledo, Ohio, follows at $33,708 to $101,124.

Buffalo, New York, has a range of $34,807 to $104,422, while Memphis, Tennessee, has a range of $35,119 to $105,358. St. Louis, Missouri, has a middle-class range of $35,583 to $106,748.

Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Hialeah, Winston-Salem and Newark also fall among the cities with the lowest middle-class income thresholds.

Cleveland's median household income is $43,383. Toledo's is $50,562, while Buffalo's is $52,211. Memphis and St. Louis have median household incomes of $52,679 and $53,374, respectively.

Why the definition changes so much

The analysis used the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 1-year American Community Survey data to examine median household incomes across all 50 states and 100 of the largest U.S. cities.

SmartAsset applied a variation of the Pew Research definition of middle-income households. Under this approach, households earning between two-thirds and twice the local median household income are classified as middle class.

That means there is no single salary that defines the American middle class.

Instead, the threshold moves with local incomes. In San Jose, a household earning nearly $300,000 can still fall within the middle class under the study's methodology. In Cleveland, the upper limit is below $87,000.

The comparison highlights a broader reality of household finances in the U.S.: income alone does not tell the full story of what it means to be middle class. Where a household lives can make a major difference.