The American middle class has been hollowed out for decades. Factors such as the decline of major industries like manufacturing, alongside stagnating wages and the rising cost of living, have reduced the ranks of the American middle class since the 1970s and exacerbated income inequality.
Not only impacting millions of American families, the decline of the middle class, as the economic backbone of the United States, is also a cause for concern among policy makers. A strong middle class is considered a pillar of economic stability and a key driver of economic growth. Middle-class households provide the labor market with workers and are themselves a steady market for goods and services. Middle-class households are also an engine of entrepreneurship and innovation, and their tax dollars help sustain investment in quality public services.
Despite the challenges of the middle class nationwide, there are still cities in the United States where middle-class incomes remain relatively high. Due to both economic and demographic circumstances, the middle class in these places have bucked many of the longer-term trends that are all too evident in other parts of the country.
Of the four metro areas in Oklahoma, Enid ranks as having the wealthiest middle class. The middle 20% of households by earnings in the area make between $50,742 and $72,058 annually, which is still below what the middle 20% of earners across the state as a whole earn, between $51,964 and $81,812.
Unlike in decades past, where someone could get a well-paying job with just a high school diploma, today, the vast majority of high-paying positions require a college education. In Enid, a city with a lower-income middle class, 23.8% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 27.9% of adults across all of Oklahoma.
All data in this story is from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey. For each of the 384 U.S. metro areas with available data, we reviewed the income range of the middle 20% earners at the household level. In each state, the metro area with the highest floor for the middle quintile of earners ranks as having the wealthiest middle class.
StateMetro area with the wealtiest middle classLower income limit of middle class households in metro area ($)Upper income limit of middle class households in metro area ($)Lower income limit of middle class households in state ($)Upper income limit of middle class households in state ($)Total metro areas in stateAlabamaHuntsville59,27595,38651,96481,81212AlaskaAnchorage69,309104,40656,32089,9842ArizonaPhoenix60,98092,68369,215113,5687ArkansasFayetteville58,34785,13451,46981,3566CaliforniaSan Jose107,949176,80663,308101,71126ColoradoDenver72,213111,14871,175111,2207ConnecticutBridgeport75,514127,82446,62373,3564DelawareDover52,77879,51256,94894,3041FloridaNaples61,00893,23950,20078,31722GeorgiaAtlanta61,94195,70450,20078,31714HawaiiUrban Honolulu73,035110,66469,215113,5682IdahoBoise City60,20988,75566,612105,9956IllinoisChicago61,68397,91152,37983,76410IndianaColumbus60,20188,11351,98080,33112IowaDes Moines60,18591,15765,03296,5968KansasWichita49,76373,97649,21877,4864KentuckyLexington50,70078,10450,20078,3175LouisianaHouma45,60675,63348,73277,2319MainePortland62,11994,29353,71385,8483MarylandCalifornia89,350126,75139,90665,1895MassachusettsBoston77,961125,76066,612105,9955MichiganAnn Arbor60,48097,67948,73277,23114MinnesotaMinneapolis69,840106,71166,612105,9955MississippiGulfport42,95169,81252,29582,9963MissouriKansas City59,31990,65749,21877,4868MontanaBillings56,45883,94950,61877,1503NebraskaOmaha58,79791,49165,335104,9193NevadaReno61,95695,08952,37983,7643New HampshireManchester73,687108,39450,61877,1501New JerseyTrenton68,864108,74956,29588,4264New MexicoSanta Fe53,89784,03169,921112,0544New YorkPoughkeepsie69,276109,64549,21877,48613North CarolinaRaleigh67,045104,14244,23569,50515North DakotaBismarck54,19785,62151,15679,3173OhioColumbus57,29689,38350,61877,15011OklahomaEnid50,74272,05851,96481,8124OregonPortland67,202102,60166,612105,9958PennsylvaniaLancaster62,44989,52766,612105,99518Rhode IslandProvidence57,44393,75350,20078,3171South CarolinaCharleston58,47489,58254,29281,5568South DakotaSioux Falls62,20089,21252,37983,7642TennesseeNashville58,92590,09566,612105,99510TexasAustin68,737105,55651,96481,81225UtahProvo71,963104,26769,215113,5685VermontBurlington65,50598,76150,61877,1501VirginiaCharlottesville63,15997,42654,42984,6529WashingtonSeattle80,316124,68562,43395,63011West VirginiaMorgantown43,94071,95952,37983,7647WisconsinAppleton61,67290,06454,42984,65212WyomingCasper51,00175,90552,29582,9962
via Oklahoma's Center Square News