Middle Class Who? (intro to topic)
How do we fix a problem we can't define?
UPDATE: We are still figuring out how Substack works, and we are aware that we forgot to post the podcast episode here, just the youtube 😅. We are posting the podcast itself in a separate email. Apologies for the misdirection!
Wow, what a journey of an episode. It started as a desire to understand the barest definitions of incomes and class to better understand my position (and privilege) in society. Turns out a merriam-webster consensus of this stuff does not exist. Which is preposterous, because in middle school I learned about The Scientific Method, which tells me that to build a useful experiment you must have a definition of your population and your problem.
So join me, an Upper Middle Class White Bitch with Expensive Hobbies, and Jackie (who also identifies as upper middle class), as we create a definition of the population in question so that maybe we (and we alone) can solve the problems facing it. See the below for Zoe’s Diagnostic Criteria of The American Middle Class.
Obviously, that last part was sarcasm. So if there is anything we overlooked, any resources you want to share, or any two-cents you want to throw in while you can still find a penny in your couch, please drop a [respectful] comment in response to our [good-faith] conversation. And as always, like, subscribe, tell your friends, you know the drill.
Zoe’s Diagnostic Criteria for The American Middle Class
Four or more of the following metrics have been present during the same 3 years within the associated geographic location of the household unit during that time period. AND at least one metric achieved must be (1) Having achieved at least the median income of associated geographic location for the last 3 years OR (2) Have not been delinquent on mortgage payments for more than 60 consecutive days.
Having achieved at least the median income of associated geographic location for 66% of the time lived in that geographic locations
Have not been delinquent on mortgage payments for more than 60 consecutive days
Able to afford a healthcare plan
Every working adult in the household has a reasonably-functioning car (exclusive of dependents)
Emergency fund of with at least three months worth of expenses covered
Can save for retirement at the rate of your maximum employee-matched retirement account or ROTH-IRA max contributions for the year
Have not been delinquent on credit card debts as it relates to necessities of living for more than three consecutive months in the last [# years].
The value of the Consumers Good Index can fluctuate 10% without changing behavior.
And something I also spent an exorbitant amount of time in middle school learning about, The Bibliography…
Blanchet, T., Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2022). Real-Time Inequality (NBER Working Paper No. 30229). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w30229
Brookings Institution. (n.d.). A dozen ways to be middle class. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-dozen-ways-to-be-middle-class/
Cato Institute. (n.d.). The $140,000 poverty line is laughably wrong—so why does it feel right?https://www.cato.org/commentary/140000-poverty-line-laughably-wrong-so-why-does-it-feel-right
Doximity. (n.d.). What does it mean to be wealthy? Doximity.
Federal Tax USA. (n.d.). 2026 tax brackets. https://www.freetaxusa.com/brackets/
Fortune. (2025, November 29). The $140,000 poverty line and America’s affordability crisis. https://fortune.com/2025/11/29/poverty-line-140000-political-rage-affordability-crisis-inflation-cost-of-living/
Kaur, S. (2022). Girls that invest: Your guide to financial independence through shares and stocks. Wiley
Kiplinger. (2025, August 6). How Long? HOw Often? 10 facts about economic recessions. https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/t038-s001-recessions-10-facts-you-must-know/index.html
MIT Living Wage Calculator. (n.d.). Living wage calculator.
https://livingwage.mit.edu/
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (n.d.). Prior HHS poverty guidelines: Federal Register references. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (2026). 2026 poverty guidelines: 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Occupy Wall Street. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street
Pew Research Center. (2025, November 14). What the Data Says ABout Food Stamps in the U.S. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/11/14/what-the-data-says-about-food-stamps-in-the-us/
Reddit. (n.d.). What does middle class mean in the States? r/AskAnAmerican. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAnAmerican/comments/1em4as9/what_does_middle_class_mean_in_the_states/
Gatti Tassin, Katie (2025). Rich Girl Nation: Taking charge of our financial futures. Penguin Random House.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Income in the United States: 2024 (P60-286). https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-286.html
Upper middle class. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class
The Free Press. (n.d.). Why do Americans feel poor?
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