What does upper Middle Class mean to you?

moneymom · June 2016

I was just reading in WSJ that Upper Middle Class was growing and they defined it as 100k to 350k for a family of 3.

How do you define Upper Middle Class?

julieanne912 · June 2016

I'd say I mostly agree with the WSJ, although I think some of that is dependent on area. 100k for a family of 3 isn't that great in my area, but it would be in most areas of the Midwest or in the Southern US.

I also think that's a pretty wide net... 100k a year is just 2 adults making 50k... not that much. But 350 is really good.

LillibetteV · June 2016

I don't define it on income because $100k in the midwest is very different than in a big east coast city.

Upper middle class to me means zero debt besides a reasonable mortgage (i.e. not house poor), fully stocked emergency funds, healthy retirement accounts, the ability to pay for your child's college (if you have kids), and still have enough money left over for vacations and a few luxuries.

Xstatic3333 · June 2016

LillibetteV said:

I don't define it on income because $100k in the midwest is very different than in a big east coast city.

Upper middle class to me means zero debt besides a reasonable mortgage (i.e. not house poor), fully stocked emergency funds, healthy retirement accounts, the ability to pay for your child's college (if you have kids), and still have enough money left over for vacations and a few luxuries.

I like that definition. We're right around 100 on the east coast and I definitely don't feel "upper," but we still have SL and car debt.

jtmh2012 · June 2016

To me, it's more about lifestyle than pure income. The type of neighborhood you life in, the cars you can afford to drive, types of vacations you tend to take, do both adults have to work to afford said lifestyle.

LillibetteV · June 2016

Also I use "luxuries" in the original sense of the word. Cable, fancy smartphones, designer purses, and a myriad of other "needs" that so many people think constitute just a basic level of living are what I would consider "luxuries".

als1982 · June 2016

I think everyone frames their definition based on their individual situation.

I also think there's a pretty big divide between $100,000 and $350,000. In my frame of reference, I would say that $100,000 is middle class and $350,000 or even $500,000 is upper middle class.

hoffse · June 2016

I think I define it in terms of what are doing with your money today. I think it means you are contributing to retirement, paying your debt in a reasonable way, you aren't living month-to-month, you can afford some luxuries, you can afford some charitable contributions, you can afford to dream a little (but not too much). I think upper middle class people probably need to account for every penny they earn, but they also aren't spending all of it.

smerka · June 2016

hoffse said:

I think I define it in terms of what are doing with your money today. I think it means you are contributing to retirement, paying your debt in a reasonable way, you aren't living month-to-month, you can afford some luxuries, you can afford some charitable contributions, you can afford to dream a little (but not too much). I think upper middle class people probably need to account for every penny they earn, but they also aren't spending all of it.

I always thought this was the definition of middle class.

Mustard76 · June 2016

I don't know that I've ever thought about defining it. H and I are in that range, but I would never consider us upper middle class. In the last five years, our incomes have each doubled, but our housing expense has tripled. Our money went SO much further in the Southwest than it does in the Midwest, so to echo some others' comments, I don't know that income only is a fair gauge.

hoffse · June 2016

smerka said:

hoffse said:

I think I define it in terms of what are doing with your money today. I think it means you are contributing to retirement, paying your debt in a reasonable way, you aren't living month-to-month, you can afford some luxuries, you can afford some charitable contributions, you can afford to dream a little (but not too much). I think upper middle class people probably need to account for every penny they earn, but they also aren't spending all of it.

I always thought this was the definition of middle class.

Maybe? I don't know - lower middle class, vs. middle middle, vs. upper middle all seem pretty similar to me.

I guess I think of lower middle and middle middle as appearing to have the same things as upper middle... except they achieve it by living month-to-month and sacrificing things like retirement, college savings, etc. to afford the new iPhone.

LillibetteV · June 2016

I also think this is skewed because many people grew up middle class so assume that they still are in the middle class when that's not the case. No one wants to admit that though so they think everyone in the middle class must live paycheck-to-paycheck and have debt.

AprilZ81 · June 2016

We fall into that range and while we save a good chunk of our income (retirement, general savings, vacation, etc) I sometimes think "we need more".

Our only debt is our mortgage and a small HELOC (under $6,000). No student loans, no cc debt and no car payments.

Even though I know we are fortunate in our financial situation I sometimes worry how we are going to pay for a baby's needs without deep sacrifices in other areas. Diapers, clothes and formula (if needed) won't be an issue, but daycare is expensive but it is a better option than me not working. Living on one income while I was laid off was doable in the strictest definition, but not something I want to do long term.

I would consider us solid middle class.

short+sassy · June 2016

I think the appearance of upper Middle Class is living in one of the nicer areas for one's city/state. A fairly large and nice house, with upgrades. Cars less than 5 years old...though I don't make a distinction for type of car. Easily able to afford small luxuries and nice trips 1-2x/year.

However, there are certainly people who have "upper Middle Class income", but don't choose to live that way. For those folks, I'd also consider upper Middle Class to be earning around 25-50% more than the average income for one's area.

Sadly, there are also people with Upper Middle Class lifestyles and income who have zero retirement and zero savings. And that's just foolish. I mean, if a person/family earns a high wage for their area...and are still living paycheck to paycheck...it's time to do a serious re-evaluation of their life and spending habits (assuming no unusual circumstances).

LillibetteV · June 2016

short+sassy said:

I think the appearance of upper Middle Class is living in one of the nicer areas for one's city/state. A fairly large and nice house, with upgrades. Cars less than 5 years old...though I don't make a distinction for type of car. Easily able to afford small luxuries and nice trips 1-2x/year.
However, there are certainly people who have "upper Middle Class income", but don't choose to live that way. For those folks, I'd also consider upper Middle Class to be earning around 25-50% more than the average income for one's area.
Sadly, there are also people with Upper Middle Class lifestyles and income who have zero retirement and zero savings. And that's just foolish. I mean, if a person/family earns a high wage for their area...and are still living paycheck to paycheck...it's time to do a serious re-evaluation of their life and spending habits (assuming no unusual circumstances).

I like this definition too! We live in a really nice town with a smoking hot real estate market so we could only afford a fixer upper - we may not have have the fanciest/newest versions of certain things but we do bring home nearly double the median household income for our town (according to census data - I'd be more curious to compare to other 30ish year old DINKS).

What does upper Middle Class mean to you?

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