With costs on the rise, here's what it takes to be middle class in Seattle

Earners in Seattle require a minimum of $154,000 in annual income to be considered middle class — the second-highest level in the nation, according to a new report by ConsumerAffairs.

“With the middle-class income threshold starting at $154,000, even above-average earners can feel the pressure of keeping up,” Alexis Curls, data content director at ConsumerAffairs, told the Business Journal.

Arlington, Virginia topped the nation for minimum middle-class income threshold, at $170,004. Just behind Seattle to round out the top five were Irvine, California ($150,103), Washington, D.C. ($148,138) and San Jose, California ($148,028).

The report was based on an analysis of income, cost-of-living data and regional price parities (which measures differences in price levels across regions) from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The authors calculated the middle-class range as 75% to 125% of each location's median income. The analysis focused on three-person households.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2024/12/23/middle-class-income-report.html

That's about 2 1/2 times what I make in a year. My house is paid off however, so I don't have that expense.