GOBankingRates released a study May 7 that determined the household income needed to be middle class in each state.
For the study, the personal finance publication compared states based on the 2012, 2017 and 2022 household median income, as sourced from the most recent publicly available Census Bureau data. Analysts then determined the middle-class income ranges for each respective year with the following definition: "those with an annual household income that was two-thirds to double the national median income." More information about the methodology is available here.
Here are the states with the lowest household income needed to be middle class, as of 2022, based on the study:
1. Mississippi — $35,323
2. West Virginia — $36,811
3. Arkansas — $37,557
4. Louisiana — $38,568
5. New Mexico — $39,148
6. Alabama — $39,739
7. Kentucky — $40,122
8. Oklahoma — $40,909
9. South Carolina — $42,415
10. Tennessee — $42,690
Here are the states with the highest household income needed to be middle class, as of 2022, based on the study:
1. Maryland — $65,641
2. New Jersey — $64,751
3. Massachusetts — $64,337
4. Hawaii — $63,209
5. California — $61,270
6. New Hampshire — $60,563
7. Washington — $60,217
8. Connecticut — $60,142
9. Colorado — $58,399
10. Virginia — $58,166