More Evidence of the Middle Class Disappearing Act Patrice J. Lee - Independent Women's Forum
go to original May 12, 2016

What is fueling the populist movements in the 2016 election cycle? Likely, Americans who have seen the middle class status and life styles erode and disappear in some cases.

New research from the Pew Research Center looks at urban centers, which are home to three-quarters of the nation’s population, and finds startling changes to the financial situations of American households over the past almost fifteen years. Looking at 229 of the 381 metropolitan areas, Pew surveyed the growth of upper and lower income tiers to confirm the decline of the middle class.

From 2000 to 2014, the share of adults living in middle-income households fell in 203 of 229 cities. Nationally, the drop in the share of middle-class households was 4 points, but in some urban areas it was as much as 6 points.  There was some good news too. The share of adults in upper-income households rose in 172 of the 229 metro areas during this time period. Some 108 metropolitan areas experienced both growth in upper-and lower-income tiers. What this tells us is that many Americans households are worse off, but some have moved on up.

The middle-income range in 2014 was about $42,000 to $125,000 annually for a household of three. The metropolitan areas with the greatest shares of middle-income adults are mostly in the Midwest in states such as Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Upper-income areas tend to be concentrated in the Northeast or California coast such as Connecticut, the DC/Maryland/Virginia area, and some cities of California. The Southwest and areas bordering Mexico have higher shares of lower-income households such as other California towns as well as Texas and Arizona.

While many factors could be at play, the report explains that cities with the greatest losses had a reliance on manufacturing.

Read the rest at Independent Women’s Forum

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