What Minnesota Families Need To Earn To Stay Middle Class

Think you’re middle class here in Minnesota? You might want to double-check, because new numbers just revealed exactly how much a family of four has to earn to truly fit that definition in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Many residents of Minnesota likely consider themselves 'middle class.' But the numbers are in, and we now know how much money you have to make to actually BE considered in the middle of the class.

We've all probably heard countless stories over the past few years about how inflation and rising prices were aiming for the 'middle class,' right? This makes sense, considering that Consumer Affairs noted that inflation peaked at over 9 percent back in June of 2022, and those living check-to-check here in Minnesota likely noticed those higher prices way more than those earning a higher income.

Minnesota’s Middle Class Has Changed More Than You Think

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And that caused a big shift. The Pew Research Center says that the share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61 percent in 1971 to just 21 in 2021. So, when factoring in the latest inflation numbers (which have come back down to between 2 and 3 percent in 2023), are YOU still in the middle class here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes?

So what is the minimum annual income now required for a family of four to be considered middle class in Minnesota?

To find out, Consumer Affairs crunched the numbers for a family of four here in the Gopher State to figure out the exact annual income required to be middle-class in Minnesota. They used this calculator provided by the Pew Research Center, as well as an inflation calculator provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here’s the Exact Income You Need to Be Middle Class in Minnesota

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And the results? Fox-9 TV in Minneapolis has the breakdown:

The answer is $67,830. That's slightly higher than the minimum annual income required to be considered middle class in Wisconsin, which is $64,130. In Iowa, it's $61,664. In South Dakota, it's $61,664 and in North Dakota, it's $62,897.

Those numbers are pretty close to a similar study about what it takes to be middle-class, according to SmartAsset. Their survey said that Minnesota's middle-class income ranged from $52,072 to $155,440, with a median household income of $77,720.

How Minnesota Compares to the Rest of the Midwest

Wisconsin's middle-class income was slightly lower, SmartAsset noted, ranging from $44,974 to $134,250 with a median household income of $67,125. Overall, the national median middle-class income was $70,784 in 2021, the survey said.

Now, while those are the incomes needed to be considered middle-class, the following individuals are definitely not in that category. That's because they're the richest people in the U.S. Keep scrolling to see who they are-- and how they earned their money!