The Upper Middle Class Used to Be an Exclusive Club. Now Its Membership Is Booming.
The upper middle class has tripled since 1979, and it’s transforming what businesses sell and who they sell to.
The upper middle class is moving on up. About 31% of Americans were part of this income bracket in 2024, up from just 10% in 1979. What makes someone upper middle class? Families of three earning between $133,000 and $400,000 a year. These tend to be white-collar workers with college degrees — accountants, engineers, corporate managers — not flashy tech founders.
Many upper-middle-classers don’t even realize they’ve climbed into this tier. Randy Shilling, a 58-year-old chemical plant worker in Texas, saved more than $3 million for retirement. “I view myself as an average Joe,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “But when I want something, I go get it.”
Upper middle class ranks are swelling because wages have grown faster than prices over time, especially for college-educated workers, researchers at the American Enterprise Institute found.
The upper middle class is moving on up. About 31% of Americans were part of this income bracket in 2024, up from just 10% in 1979. What makes someone upper middle class? Families of three earning between $133,000 and $400,000 a year. These tend to be white-collar workers with college degrees — accountants, engineers, corporate managers — not flashy tech founders.
Many upper-middle-classers don’t even realize they’ve climbed into this tier. Randy Shilling, a 58-year-old chemical plant worker in Texas, saved more than $3 million for retirement. “I view myself as an average Joe,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “But when I want something, I go get it.”
Upper middle class ranks are swelling because wages have grown faster than prices over time, especially for college-educated workers, researchers at the American Enterprise Institute found.
