What class are you?

[Lemony]

ITA with thrifty ray. How do you define someone who, say, earns 100K but lives in a lower-class neighborhood? Likewise, what about someone who earns very little but inherits a classy house? There are far too many variables.

According to Oprah's income list, we're Upper Class. Yet we're a family of 5 living in a modest middle-class home. I don't see how they can draw lines like that when there are so many caveats.

[Tree0164]

Hmm according to Oprah's chart it says we are upper class? Huh I don't feel upper class and I don't like titles like that. I think class has alot more to do what you make but your investments, housing etc.

I feel more like middle class.

[Fern]

I was born into lower middle class, am currenty middle class and when i marry my SO i'll be upper middle class.

[robex]

The terms are confusing because they go by what your income is and not by how much money you actually HAVE.

According to the chart we are middle class...but I know lots of people who would count themselves upper class, yet owe more money than they make in a year!

[BCHGRL]

Wow! I never thought of myself as upper class. Honestly, my husband and I don't want kids because we don't think we can afford them. But our "upper class" income doesn't seem to go very far. We both drive paid-for 1998 vehicles. We live in a very middle class neighborhood, and most of our disposable income is going towards paying off the rest of our wedding debt.

Considering student loans and housing prices are at an all-time high, I don't think that this scale is a good indicator of wealth. If a family owes over $50K in student loans and can't buy a decent home for less than $300K, what does it really matter the family makes $80K a year? They will still struggle to make ends meet.

[pyotr]

Oprah's three-tier "class system" is (not surprisingly) just plain wrong, not even worth considering. I think her class system might be valid if you're trying to classify the entire world including all the developing and non-developed countries, but class systems are very "local" in that you only seem and feel rich or poor based on how well you're doing (or not) compared to your nearest neighbors, and you're nearest fellow-countrymen.

Therefore for the USA, I'd stick with the IRS class system, even though not validated, it seems more reasonable to me (tax table HERE). According to the IRS tax tables, you've got to be making over $336,550/year to be in the "upper class" realm and that seems about right to me. I'd say if you're making less than $61,300, you'd have to be in the lower class if you will. I'd say anything between $61,300 and $188,450 should be considered "middle class" and the people making between $188,450 and $336,550 are in the "upper-middle-class" range. I think this table if anything is a bit of an underestimate of class, as I think it is very difficult to break into the "upper class" ranks simply by income alone.

I think in reality the "upper-middleclass" group is very much more akin to the "middleclass" folks than the upper (and much more easily admixed with the middleclass population). There is a huge yawning gap between the upper classes and the middle classes (including the "upper-middle") - that's what the wealth stats support also. The top 1% of the US (25million people out of like 250million) own 38% of US wealth and there are only about 8 million millionaires in the US out of a population of over 296million. Look at PBS's frontline presentation on the social class system in the US done a few years ago to get a good look at this (click HERE )

[getforfree]

By the income we are lower than middle class, so I guess we are poor. But we have so much and enough of everything and we never short on money because we spend it wisely and always looking for the best deals and free stuff.

[Ima saver]

According to pyotr, I have just moved to lower class, but we have everything we want to. I guess if i was rich, I would get someone to come and teach me how to learn the computer.

[TBH]

Oprah's table seems totally wacked.

I grew up upper middle class, as did my spouse.

We are now solidly middle class, far from upper middle. We live in a neighborhood of lower-middle class folks, some working class but mostly lower middle.

[frugalfarmwife]

Ahhh, I'm not even going to look, lol, cause I know I'm in a class all by myself! They broke the mold when they made hubby and I and we're proud of it


I was raised to look like we were high class but the image was all fake, yep, had that nice car and an airplane, lot in florida and extra car, hmmm, sad when the electricty gets turned off and things repo'd, taught me what I DON'T want in life.

We live simply and thriftily and prefer it that way, but we want for nothing and the bills are paid the day they come in.

kj

[Thrifty Ray]

I stand firm that I am in the 'content class'....and there I will stay.

I will continue to view others by who they are, rather than what they earn.

I have rubbed elbows in all circles...and believe me, there are good and bad in all...

IMO, money is not a measure of ones worth....pity the man who thinks it is.