GoKawiilThe 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.