(FOX 9) - A new survey is looking at how much a household has to earn to be considered middle class in Minnesota.
Background
In its analysis, GOBankingRate looked at what "middle class" means in each of the 50 states.
The website aligned its "middle class" definition with the Pew Research Center at two-thirds to twice the median income.
The results
In Minnesota, GOBankingRate found the median income is $84,313.
That means, under their definition, you would need to earn between $56,208 and $168,626 to be considered middle class in Minnesota.
Context
GOBankingRates is a personal finance website that appears to market a wide array of financial products.
Companies often post surveys and articles as a form of marketing, to give their enterprise more legitimacy and position the company as an expert in a field. For the most part, it's a good idea to take most "surveys" and "studies" from most companies with a grain of salt.
In this instance, GOBankingRate uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which is reliable data. But there is an issue.
Digging deeper
The survey used data from 2022. The U.S. Census Bureau actually has newer data on its site for 2023.
According to that data, Minnesota's household median income is slightly higher at $85,086. This obviously doesn't change much in terms of the range. Using the 2023 numbers, Minnesota's middle-class range under the Pew definition would be between $56,724 and $170,172.
Looking at the Census Bureau data, we can also see how much the middle class has changed over the past decade.
Minnesota middle class
2013
- Household median income: $60,702
- Middle-class range: Between $40,468 and $121,404
2018
- Median income: $70,313
- Middle-class range: Between $46,875 and $140,626
2023
- Median income: $85,086
- Middle-class range: Between $56,724 and $170,172