The personal finance website MoneyGeek analyzed incomes in U.S. cities and found that the number of middle-class households is quickly falling in some of them.
According to its analysis, there are fewer people in the middle class in seven of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. That data backs up Pew data that shows the middle class across the U.S. has shrunk in recent years.
Both Pew and MoneyGeek define the middle class as households earning between two-thirds to double the national median household income.
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Among U.S. cities with a population of over 250,000, Henderson, Nevada, had its proportion of middle-class households shrink between 2017 and 2022. During that time, the middle class went from comprising 45.2% of households to 41.1%. It was followed by Virginia Beach, Virginia, which went from having 46.8% of its households in the middle class to just 43%.
Among America's 10 largest cities, San Diego saw the largest decline of middle-class households. San Antonio, Philadelphia and Houston were the only cities among the 10 most populous with growing middle classes.
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Based on federal data, middle-class households with three people have incomes ranging from about $62,000 to $187,000 annually on average.
According to MoneyGeek, these are the 10 cities with populations of over 250,000 where the middle class is shrinking the most:
- Henderson, Nevada
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Santa Ana, California
- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Bakersfield, California
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- North Las Vegas
- St. Petersburg, Florida
- Irving, Texas
Of the aforementioned cities, St. Petersburg had the lowest middle-class income with a range of $46,627 to $139,882. Anchorage had the highest threshold to be in the middle class, with an income range of $67,167 and $201,502.
Although the lower class has gotten slightly smaller in recent years, the upper class has seen higher gains. According to Pew, 19% of the U.S. population is in the upper class.
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But the data also showed there is now a larger gap between the incomes of upper-income households and other households, Pew said.
You can see how many households are in the middle class in your community on MoneyGeek's website.
