The Murky Middle - Defining Middle Class in Connecticut
November 28, 2006
Inspired by an article in this morning’s Hartford Courant called Who is Middle Class?, I thought it would be fun to include varying perspectives (including my own) on the question of what defines class and just who among us is in the middle. This is an issue that is likely to be addressed nationally but it will have ramifications for many in Connecticut who feel like middle class but may be treated as the “wealthy” when compared to those in other states.
More analytical commentators have differed for years on how to measure the middle class. Should net worth be the yardstick? If so, the Federal Reserve says, people in the middle would have a median family net worth - assets minus liabilities - of a healthy $93,100 in 2004, up from $70,800 in 1995.
But if you look more closely at the numbers, the median net worth rose very little in the three years before 2004.
Also, The Big Picture did a summary article on the report.
Median Income
Or should the measurement be median household income? By that measure, the midpoint was $46,326 last year, according to the Census Bureau. But median income varies widely by region, age and racial groups.
The national medial income in 2005 was $46,326.
The median income in Connecticut was $56,409. Compare that to Mississippi which has a median income of $32,397.
So What are Nutmeggers Doing With All That Extra Income?
While looking at median income, we also have to consider the cost of living. The largest expense for most households is housing costs. According to the Partnership for Strong Communities, housing costs in Connecticut have risen nearly 63% from 2000 to 2005 and wages have risen only 18.5% during the same period. In 2005, the median home price in Hartford, Connecticut, was $253,300.
Home Connecticut did a study about home affordability and found that 159 of the 167 towns in Connecticut are not affordable when comparing the median income to median sales price.
To determine the affordability of a given town, HOMEConnecticut calculated the income necessary to qualify for a mortgage for a median sales priced home in that community based on a conservative formula: a 4.5% fixed rate, 30-year mortgage, 1% annual property tax rate and $60/month in property insurance. The formula assumes the buyer has 10% of the purchase price for a down payment and no other debt. We then compared the qualifying income with the town’s actual median household income. A town was considered unaffordable if its median household income was lower than the qualifying income.
Missisippi vs. Connecticut
While I’ve never been to Jackson, Mississippi, and can’t say if it’s comparable to Hartford, Connecticut, both are state capitols and I thought it would make for an interesting comparison using the measurements discussed above. In Mississippi, the Median Income in 2005 was $32, 397 and the Median Housing Price in 2005 in Jackson was $133,880.
Compare that to Connecticut where we have a a median income almost double that of Mississippi but our housing costs are also almost double. Median Income in 2005 was $56,409 and Median Housing Price in Hartford in 2005 was $253,300.
What Am I Getting At?
Defining middle class may be an exercise in futility because there are so many variables, even more than what I care to go into. But it is clear that the value of a dollar in one part of the country is different that the same dollar elsewhere. And certianly to make broad policy decisions affecting “the middle class” should take into account this variation.
To be middle class in Connecticut is very different than middle class in Mississippi simply because to live here, you have to make more income to be just able to live. The additional income goes to pay for housing, owned or rented, and other expenses and taxes (can you say property tax burden). While someone earning $100,000 may be “wealthy” when compared to the national median, the $100,000 annual salary in Connecticut feels more middle class than it does elsewhere.
Entry Filed under: Connecticut, Life, Real Estate. .
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1. Pierres Service » B&hellip | November 28, 2006 at 8:33 pm
[...] To be middle class in Connecticut is very different than middle class in Mississippi simply because to live here, you have to make more income to be just able to live. The additional income goes to pay for housing, owned or rented, …Read more: here [...]
2. Rich | June 28, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Using the term “middle class” as an economic concept is the persistent mistake American economists make based upon their bias toward looking at the world in strictly economic or commercial terms. Social class is better defined as a subgroup within the society which largely shares certain experiences and viewpoints. From this perspective, the defining experience in America that makes the best indicator of whether someone is socially and politically as well as economically “middle class” is the Bachelor’s Degree. People who complete this level of higher education (or an Associate’s or Master’s) form the center of gravity for the concept of “middle class”, behaviorally as well as economically…
3. Raymond Anderson | November 16, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I’m in South Africa, working for a bank, and we’re trying to grapple with this concept (how to define ‘middle class’
for marketing purposes.
I agree with the point that the definition of middle class varies with the situation. It should go further than that though. Perhaps the best definitions I’ve seen, refer to it as a form of financial independence. The middle class is a group who rely upon their own efforts (as opposed to the state or benefactors), to satisfy their needs, and some of their wants, and still have something left over to save. In many of the articles I’ve seen it’s related to the “bourgeoisie”, and equated with the urban professional, entrepreneurial, and public employee classes.
The conclusion that I’m coming to for South Africa, is that the definition has to be adjusted according to race. What is middle class for the “previously disadvantaged” is not necessarily middle class for whites. Much of this will relate to expectations, and whether people are able to accumulate assets from the incomes they receive. Whether or not this suggestion is politically acceptable is another question.