Income Thresholds:
Lower income class: Less than 41,868 U.S. dollars
Middle income class: 41,869 - 125,608 U.S. dollars
Upper income class: More than 125,609 U.S. dollars.
The income refers to annual household income for a three-person household.
This statistic shows the U.S. employment rate from 1971 to 2015, by income tier. In 2015, about 66 percent of U.S. adult residents that were part of the middle class, were employed.
This study defined middle class income households as those with an income between 67 and 200 percent of the U.S. median household income, after adjustment for household size. Middle class income ranges from about 42,000 U.S. dollars to about 126,000 U.S. dollars per year for a three-person household.
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Pew Research Center. (December 9, 2015). Employment rate in the United States from 1971 to 2015, by income tier [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Retrieved July 26, 2026, from /statistics/500377/us-employment-rate-by-income-tier/
Pew Research Center. "Employment rate in the United States from 1971 to 2015, by income tier." Chart. December 9, 2015. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Accessed July 26, 2026. /statistics/500377/us-employment-rate-by-income-tier/
Pew Research Center. (2015). Employment rate in the United States from 1971 to 2015, by income tier. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc.. Accessed: July 26, 2026. /statistics/500377/us-employment-rate-by-income-tier/
Pew Research Center. "Employment Rate in The United States from 1971 to 2015, by Income Tier." ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc., 9 Dec 2015, /statistics/500377/us-employment-rate-by-income-tier/
Pew Research Center, Employment rate in the United States from 1971 to 2015, by income tier ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, /statistics/500377/us-employment-rate-by-income-tier/ (last visited July 26, 2026)
Employment rate in the United States from 1971 to 2015, by income tier [Graph], Pew Research Center, December 9, 2015. [Online]. Available: /statistics/500377/us-employment-rate-by-income-tier/