The 20 US cities where the middle class is shrinking fastest
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(NEXSTAR) – Americans in every state, city and corner of the country are feeling the squeeze amid years (upon years) of rising prices. As the cost of living grows and wages for many workers stagnate, a middle-class lifestyle can feel more elusive.
A Pew Research study found about 51% of Americans live in middle-class households in 2023, down from 61% in 1971.
“As a result, Americans are more apart than before financially. From 1971 to 2023, the share of Americans who live in lower-income households increased from 27% to 30%, and the share in upper-income households increased from 11% to 19%,” Pew wrote.
The researchers found that Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native families are more likely to be in lower income tiers. So are people in metro areas throughout the Southwest, from McAllen, Texas, to Bakersfield, California, Pew found.
Personal finance site MoneyGeek took a closer look at household income data to figure out where the middle class is shrinking over time. When looking at Census data for 600 cities, they found 367 had declines in the size of the middle class between 2017 and 2022.
Some of the changes were dramatic, like in Springdale, Arkansas, and Carmel, Indiana, where the middle class shrunk by double-digit percentage points in 5 years.
The 20 cities with the biggest drop in middle-income households, according to MoneyGeek, were:
| Rank | City | Drop in middle-income households (2017-22) | Percentage of households that are middle income | Middle income range | Population size (2022) |
| 1 | Springdale, AR | -12.0% | 43.2% | $39,351-$118,054 | 85,844 |
| 2 | Carmel, IN | -10.7% | 41.0% | $86,888-$260,664 | 101,286 |
| 3 | Rockville, MD | -9.7% | 37.2% | $70,892-$212,676 | 66,915 |
| 4 | Yorba Linda, CA | -9.3% | 42.0% | $101,023-$303,068 | 67,077 |
| 5 | The Woodlands, TX | -9.2% | 35.0% | $91,557-$274,670 | 117,970 |
| 6 | Union City, CA | -8.8% | 38.4% | $98,973-$296,920 | 67,049 |
| 7 | Bellflower, CA | -8.6% | 37.5% | $49,421-$148,262 | 76,405 |
| 8 | Castro Valley, CA | -8.2% | 38.0% | $88,857-$266,570 | 66,506 |
| 9 | O’Fallon, MO | -8.1% | 45.7% | $70,160-$210,480 | 93,648 |
| 10 | Sandy Springs, GA | -8.1% | 39.1% | $69,596-$208,788 | 107,767 |
| 11 | Layton, UT | -8.0% | 47.6% | $66,790-$200,370 | 82,600 |
| 12 | Melbourne, FL | -7.6% | 37.3% | $42,887-$128,662 | 86,439 |
| 13 | Daly City, CA | -7.6% | 40.1% | $72,818-$218,454 | 99,990 |
| 14 | Dale City, VA | -7.6% | 44.0% | $64,809-$194,428 | 66,140 |
| 15 | Arlington Heights, IL | -7.5% | 36.8% | $75,980-$227,940 | 74,207 |
| 16 | Bowling Green, KY | -7.3% | 37.6% | $30,541-$91,624 | 74,929 |
| 17 | North Port, FL | -7.2% | 47.7% | $52,391-$157,174 | 85,102 |
| 18 | Newport Beach, CA | -7.1% | 35.0% | $84,902-$254,706 | 83,981 |
| 19 | Citrus Heights, CA | -6.9% | 43.7% | $49,282-$147,846 | 86,440 |
| 20 | Renton, WA | -6.8% | 40.1% | $62,259-$186,776 | 104,060 |
While it can be hard to define what it feels like to be middle class, MoneyGeek and Pew define “middle income” as earning between two-thirds and double the city’s median household income. That means a family earning $150,000 a year in ultra-expensive Santa Clara, California, would qualify as middle income.
However, that same family would be upper income in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the middle household income ranges from $30,000 to $90,000.
You can see MoneyGeek’s full dataset on the 367 cities with shrinking middle classes here.
