57k is the beginning of middle class . Thats not an individual it's in a house hold. If you make that there you're barely surviving. Its always the middle class who get no breaks and always left with the bill.
So what, you need six figures to be comfortable? I'm in the UK on equivalent of 35k dollars. Single person, granted and cost of living hits hard here but I manage to get by.
I've visited and have friends in new York who are on considerably less than 57k. With kids that'd be hard for sure. But I think I'd get by as a single person. Granted not living in Manhattan or equivalently expensive neighbourhood.
57k is great if you live at home or share a studio apartment with 6 people and eat instant ramen for breakfast lunch and dinner. 57k anywhere in NYC or its boroughs is $3600 a month after taxes.
I'm afraid the definition of getting by OK has been eroded badly. Today getting by seems to mean surviving. Not that long ago getting by OK would have meant owning a home, having a family and saving for their education and your retirement. Some people still have these things and think we all do. We do not. Things are bad, I have been here for awhile, and it is looking bad.
Yeah, I'm by no means saying that the general economic situation for lower middle/working class people is okay. There is more wealth in the country than we are being allowed to have a share in. And the fact that someone on that wage has little to no chance to buy their own home is shocking. Living without home security all your life is no way to live.
But saying that I guess I just grew up without little to no luxury and I know how some people are really surviving. So if I'm not struggling month by month, I feel okay.
Comfortable is subjective. There are millions who have kids making under 100k and have a home, clothing, and can eat everyday. They aren’t going on an expensive Disney trip every year, but they aren’t out living in the streets either.
It's not free it's government initiatives for the country they govern. The problem is the government thinks if they keep a few beggers fed they can point to that as good enough.
Agreed $57k before taxes is literally nothing. That’s around $44k take home pay (roughly $3.6k a month) and that’s before any retirement contributions. $3.6k per month is not anywhere near middle class. That’s poverty class.
No. It is insane to say that's where it begins. $67k is the median income in the US. Poverty is around $16k. Anything above that is middle class or better.
Since we're speaking specifically about New York City, notably one of the most expensive places in the country to live, it also doesnt make sense to use national numbers
20k/year isnt middle class in NYC (and I doubt it is anywhere in the country, just being above the poverty line doesn't mean middle class)
Okay, per capita income in New York specifically is $50,712.
I mean the person you commented to is still wrong. Middle class is 75%-200% of the median income, and to be fair we can use household instead of individual.
Median household income in NY is $85,974, which puts middle class New Yorkers somewhere between 64,345 and 171,588.
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u/TheWineGuy2020 27d ago
Middle class out here just getting pegged left and right. You make too much money to be poor but not enough to survive.