This Is the City With the Richest Middle Class in Georgia

The American middle class has been hollowed out for decades. Factors such as the decline of major industries like manufacturing, alongside stagnating wages and the rising cost of living, have reduced the ranks of the American middle class since the 1970s and exacerbated income inequality.

Not only impacting millions of American families, the decline of the middle class, as the economic backbone of the United States, is also a cause for concern among policy makers. A strong middle class is considered a pillar of economic stability and a key driver of economic growth. Middle-class households provide the labor market with workers and are themselves a steady market for goods and services. Middle-class households are also an engine of entrepreneurship and innovation, and their tax dollars help sustain investment in quality public services.

Despite the challenges of the middle class nationwide, there are still cities in the United States where middle-class incomes remain relatively high. Due to both economic and demographic circumstances, the middle class in these places have bucked many of the longer-term trends that are all too evident in other parts of the country.

Of the 14 metro areas in Georgia, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta ranks as having the wealthiest middle class. The middle 20% of households by earnings in the area make between $61,941 and $95,704 annually, compared to the middle 20% of households across the state as a whole, who make between $50,200 and $78,317.

Unlike in decades past, where someone could get a well-paying job with just a high school diploma, today, the vast majority of high-paying positions require a college education. In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, 42.2% of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 34.6% of adults across all of Georgia.

All data in this story is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. For each of the 384 U.S. metro areas with available data, we reviewed the income range of the middle 20% earners at the household level. In each state, the metro area with the highest floor for the middle quintile of earners ranks as having the wealthiest middle class.

StateMetro area with the wealtiest middle classLower income limit of middle class households in metro area ($)Upper income limit of middle class households in metro area ($)Lower income limit of middle class households in state ($)Upper income limit of middle class households in state ($)Total metro areas in state
AlabamaHuntsville59,27595,38651,96481,81212
AlaskaAnchorage69,309104,40656,32089,9842
ArizonaPhoenix60,98092,68369,215113,5687
ArkansasFayetteville58,34785,13451,46981,3566
CaliforniaSan Jose107,949176,80663,308101,71126
ColoradoDenver72,213111,14871,175111,2207
ConnecticutBridgeport75,514127,82446,62373,3564
DelawareDover52,77879,51256,94894,3041
FloridaNaples61,00893,23950,20078,31722
GeorgiaAtlanta61,94195,70450,20078,31714
HawaiiUrban Honolulu73,035110,66469,215113,5682
IdahoBoise City60,20988,75566,612105,9956
IllinoisChicago61,68397,91152,37983,76410
IndianaColumbus60,20188,11351,98080,33112
IowaDes Moines60,18591,15765,03296,5968
KansasWichita49,76373,97649,21877,4864
KentuckyLexington50,70078,10450,20078,3175
LouisianaHouma45,60675,63348,73277,2319
MainePortland62,11994,29353,71385,8483
MarylandCalifornia89,350126,75139,90665,1895
MassachusettsBoston77,961125,76066,612105,9955
MichiganAnn Arbor60,48097,67948,73277,23114
MinnesotaMinneapolis69,840106,71166,612105,9955
MississippiGulfport42,95169,81252,29582,9963
MissouriKansas City59,31990,65749,21877,4868
MontanaBillings56,45883,94950,61877,1503
NebraskaOmaha58,79791,49165,335104,9193
NevadaReno61,95695,08952,37983,7643
New HampshireManchester73,687108,39450,61877,1501
New JerseyTrenton68,864108,74956,29588,4264
New MexicoSanta Fe53,89784,03169,921112,0544
New YorkPoughkeepsie69,276109,64549,21877,48613
North CarolinaRaleigh67,045104,14244,23569,50515
North DakotaBismarck54,19785,62151,15679,3173
OhioColumbus57,29689,38350,61877,15011
OklahomaEnid50,74272,05851,96481,8124
OregonPortland67,202102,60166,612105,9958
PennsylvaniaLancaster62,44989,52766,612105,99518
Rhode IslandProvidence57,44393,75350,20078,3171
South CarolinaCharleston58,47489,58254,29281,5568
South DakotaSioux Falls62,20089,21252,37983,7642
TennesseeNashville58,92590,09566,612105,99510
TexasAustin68,737105,55651,96481,81225
UtahProvo71,963104,26769,215113,5685
VermontBurlington65,50598,76150,61877,1501
VirginiaCharlottesville63,15997,42654,42984,6529
WashingtonSeattle80,316124,68562,43395,63011
West VirginiaMorgantown43,94071,95952,37983,7647
WisconsinAppleton61,67290,06454,42984,65212
WyomingCasper51,00175,90552,29582,9962

by Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square

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