How much you have to earn to be middle class in every state

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  • The middle class is usually defined as the group of earners in the center of the earning scale.
  • A report released by Zippia shows the salary you need to be middle class in each state.
  • In a handful of states, the cost to live a middle-class life is less than the median salary.
  • Visit Personal Finance Insider for more stories.

What does it mean to be "middle class"? The answer may vary depending on how you define that term.

The common approach is to categorize the middle class as the group of earners at the center of the earnings scale, or the median. Meanwhile, the Pew Charitable Trusts considers middle-class households to be those earning 67% to 200% of a state's median income. So there's a real range to this definition.

But a recent analysis done by Zippia, a website that helps users find jobs, says the definition of the middle class should consider what it means to be financially stable in each state. That's because being within the median income range doesn't necessarily mean you will be financially stable, especially in states where the cost of living is high.

A recent Zippia report lists the salary you'd need to earn in each state to be middle class based on home costs and other expenses. The table below compares Zippia's middle-class income requirement, beginning with the highest cost of living, relative to the median household income based on data from the US Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey.

Based on the data above, in the vast majority of states, median-income earners are bringing in enough to live a middle-class life, according to Zippia's data.

Laila is an investing reporter on the Markets division out of New York. While she writes about a wide range of topics, her coverage is predominantly catered to retail investors with a focus on cryptocurrencies and trading strategies. Laila made the switch to journalism after being in foreign policy and international relations. She is a recipient of the College Coronavirus Coverage Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Laila can be reached at: lhmaidan@insider.com

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More: Middle class income Income gap Salary Median Income

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