Are you in the middle class in Connecticut? What you need to make to say 'yes'
What is considered a middle-class income in Connecticut?
Consumer Affairs, a customer review service and news platform, took a stab at answering that question. They used a combination of a Pew Research Center calculator that determines the minimum annual income in each state to be considered middle class (based on 2018 data) and an inflation calculator provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to estimate what a middle-class income would look like in each state.
Depending on which state you live in, a middle-class income differs by $30,832. In Connecticut, the estimated middle-class income for a family of four in 2023 would be $80,163.
How does that compare to other states?
Hawaii topped the list of most expensive middle class, with Consumer Affairs putting it at $82,630. New York and the District of Columbia are tied for second at $81,396.
Connecticut tied with New Jersey for the third most expensive state.
Massachusetts was right behind with an estimate of $76,463. Next on the list was Washington, and then, in the sixth spot, New Hampshire at $73,997. Vermont was eighth on the list at $71,530.
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At $69,064, Rhode Island comes in next for New England, and at the bottom of the list for New England is Maine at $67,830.
Alabama had the cheapest middle class at $51,798.
How do the Consumer Affairs calculations compare?
Consumer Affairs isn't the first entity to try to put a number on what middle class is by state, and many outlets have different numbers.
Zipcruiter puts the number at $75,239 for a "lower middle class job" in Connecticut. That is $36 an hour. The site also identifies 10 cities in which "the typical salary for a Working Class job is above the average in Connecticut." Norwich ranks eighth on that list with an annual salary of $79,888 (38.41 per hour).
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Another site, GoBankingRates.com put the middle class range for a four-person family in Connecticut at $83,808 to $250,174 when they did their calculations in July. This site also calculates a range of $58,508 to $174,652 for a family of two, and a range of $68,170 to $203,492 for a family of three.
How is the middle class doing?
According to Consumer Affairs, the middle class isn't doing great.
Oliver Rust, head of Product at independent inflation data aggregator Truflation, told Consumer Affairs that the middle class is capturing a lower share of the income than they were in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and with that has come more financial insecurity and more debt.
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That coincides with the price of everything going up. The median home in New London County listed for $432,425 in August, down 13.5% from the previous month's $499,900 but still up 8.8% from August 2022, according to Realtor.com.
New London County, Connecticut: Real Estate Market Report
And while there are some signs of inflation easing and wage growth, most people say they aren't feeling it.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Are you in the middle class in Connecticut? How much you need to make
