Breaking into the middle class in New York State requires a lot of money. This is because soaring inflation levels and slow wage increases are pushing up the cost of living.
The minimum annual income required for a family of four to be considered part of the Empire State’s middle class rose to $81,396 in 2023. According to the Pew Research Center and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s about $7,000 more than a couple with two children would have earned in 2022, when the minimum income was $74,908, and more than the $60,328 they needed to live a middle-class life in 2016. About $20,000 more expensive.
Meanwhile, joining the Big Apple’s middle class came at an even higher price last year, with a minimum annual salary of $318,406, according to a separate study by SmartAsset.
“It’s scary,” David Delisle, a financial literacy expert and author of “The Golden Quest: Your Journey to a Rich Life,” told the Post.
“Housing has become more expensive for most people, which is causing greater inequality.”
DeLaisle said record levels of inflation have soared 17% since President Joe Biden took office, which is due to a shrinking middle class nationwide.
“Revenues are not keeping up with inflation, just as all other costs are going up,” Delisle said.
In 2023, New York state’s minimum income was just below Hawaii, where a family of four needed $82,630 to be considered middle class.
The District of Columbia was tied with New York state, which was slightly more expensive than neighboring states New Jersey and Connecticut.
By comparison, the median household income for a family of four considered middle class in the country was $70,784 in 2021, according to census data.
The states with the lowest incomes to qualify as middle class were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, West Virginia, and Mississippi.
A family of four living in Mississippi would have to earn $60,431.
In 2022, the Pew Research Center conducted a study that found that the percentage of American adults considered middle class decreased significantly over the 50-year period from 1971 to 2021.
Fifty years ago, 61% of American adults were in the middle class and only 14% were in the upper income bracket.
But in 2021, the number of adults considered middle class fell to 50%, while those in the top income bracket rose to 21%.
The study also found a higher proportion of people living on low incomes, at 29% in 2021 compared to 25% in 1971.
Meanwhile, the study found that wealthy people are becoming richer at a faster pace than middle- and low-income groups.
According to Pew, median income for high-rise households increased 69% from 1970 ($130,800) to 2020 ($219,572).
For middle-income households, median income increased 50% from $59,934 in 1970 to $90,131 in 2020.
Income for low-income households increased 45% from $20,604 in 1970 to $29,963 in 2020.
If current trends continue, the middle class could shrink further.
“Without a middle class, everything falls apart and becomes unsustainable,” Delisle said.
“There will be people who can’t afford to live and people who have more money than they know what to do with.”
