You need to earn this to be middle class/upper middle class in NJ

If you think you’re middle class because you have a job, own a home and occasionally splurge on takeout, I have some bad news for you.

You might need to make a whole lot more money than you think.

According to a new analysis reported on by northjersey.com, a New Jersey household needs to earn at least $69,529 a year to be considered middle class.

a couple of cars parked in front of a house

That’s just the starting line.

And if you want to be considered upper-middle class, you’d better be doing considerably better.

The range for upper-middle class in New Jersey is $162,235 to $208,588 a year. But damn. I’m old enough to remember when saying you earned “six figures” was a way of saying you were upper class, and earning over $200k? Yeah, that was rich.

So if your household makes $163,000, congratulations. You’re upper-middle class.

a man and a woman sitting at a table high fiving each other

Although after the mortgage, property taxes, car insurance, groceries, utilities and the 47 different ways New Jersey finds to separate you from your money, you might not exactly be feeling very upper-middle class.

In fact, New Jersey ranks second in the country for how much you need to earn to qualify as middle class, behind only Massachusetts.

And that’s probably not going to surprise anybody who has ever looked at a property tax bill here and wondered how in the hell it came to this.

The definition comes from Pew Research Center, which considers middle class to be households earning between two-thirds and twice the national median household income, adjusted for household size and location.

aerial view of green trees and white flowers

But here’s the part I also find fascinating.

There is a massive difference between a family making $70,000 and one making $200,000.

Yet technically, they’re living under the same very large middle-class umbrella.

So, New Jersey, how’s that six-figure “middle-class” life treating you?

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

Report a correction 👈