Middles Class: $381K is the NEW $100k, Six Figures is no longer Suceessful based on analysis

[Anonymous]

Despite our best efforts, almost half of all households have incomes BELOW the median. Fortunately, they rest easy is the comfy hammock of our social safety net.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Despite our best efforts, almost half of all households have incomes BELOW the median. Fortunately, they rest easy is the comfy hammock of our social safety net.

I'm sorry, but did this strike anyone else as funny. Yes, by definition, 50% of households will fall below the median. I defy you to find a way to change that since the definition of median is specifically the 50th percentile.

[Anonymous]

^
^ Umm, I think that was exactly the quoted poster's point. Check you humor/tongue-in-cheek radar...

[Anonymous]

Middle class would be ok if housing in the dmv wasn't so expensive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And since when is 3500 normal sized? That's pretty damned big.

Not for the rest of the country

Only if the 'rest of the country' = Texas.

To add, the national average home sq ft in 2010 was 2,200.

http://www.census.gov/const/C25Ann/sftotalmedavgsqft.pdf

THANK YOU to people who actually base arguments on real numbers

whatever makes you feel better about buying tiny cracker box homes

as long as you're fine knowing that you are the poster child for conspicuous consumption...

Honestly, I think it's all about perspective. I am from Texas and most of the homes I have been in are more than 2500 square feet, so I don't find 3500 square feet a mansion by any definition. You definitely get more bang for your buck, unlike this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As most of us suspect, middle class / rich threshold is much higher now a days, $380K nationally and $427k to $617K in the DC area

This is the reason why people in our area feel like they are barely scraping buy on $200k-$300k a year. To feel comfortable and upper middle class you would need to make about $350k-$500K in the DC area.

Some key findings from the articles:
Nationally, the top 1 percent of all households had annual incomes of $387,000 or more in 2010.
The District’s threshold for a 1 percenter — $617,000
Maryland had the fifth-highest threshold, almost $477,000
Virginia’s was eighth highest, at more than $427,000.

Think Six Figures Makes You Successful? Not Anymore
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47980347

What it takes to be a 1 percenter in the Washington area
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/what-it-takes-to-be-a-1-percenter-in-the-washington-area/2012/02/01/gIQA571JiQ_story.html

You are confusing the points of the article. It takes $381K to match the purchasing power of $100K in 1976. But it NEVER SAID $100K was middle class or upper middle class.

[Anonymous]

So many angry people in here , they probably thought making 250k was rich

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people in the rest of the country are also much fatter than the yummy mummies of upper NW DC. I'm sure that the person who weighs twice as much as I do would feel more cramped in my house than I do.

The yummy mummies ? Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Try the 'old dried up frumps'. I was at a famed upper NW park tis afternoon and saw a bunch of old bitches in Athleta and north face gear. They were too old even for that frump attire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many angry people in here , they probably thought making 250k was rich

It isn't?

[Anonymous]

We's poverty poors by these standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


Honestly, I think it's all about perspective. I am from Texas and most of the homes I have been in are more than 2500 square feet, so I don't find 3500 square feet a mansion by any definition. You definitely get more bang for your buck, unlike this area.

We almost moved to Austin. Not all the neighborhoods there are filled with those awful prefab looking gigantic home construction. Most of the homes we liked had around 2000 square feet and were in walkable neigborhoods with great amenities. These neighborhoods are few and far between in TX.

Just because the "we are our own country" nutsos don't care about how much they spend in gas to get from their hideous looking gigantic house on a tiny plot of land to their job 60 miles away doesn't mean this is the ideal the whole country should follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As most of us suspect, middle class / rich threshold is much higher now a days, $380K nationally and $427k to $617K in the DC area

This is the reason why people in our area feel like they are barely scraping buy on $200k-$300k a year. To feel comfortable and upper middle class you would need to make about $350k-$500K in the DC area.

Some key findings from the articles:
[b]Nationally, the top 1 percent of all households had annual incomes of $387,000 or more in 2010.]/b]
The District’s threshold for a 1 percenter — $617,000
Maryland had the fifth-highest threshold, almost $477,000
Virginia’s was eighth highest, at more than $427,000.

Think Six Figures Makes You Successful? Not Anymore
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47980347

What it takes to be a 1 percenter in the Washington area
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/what-it-takes-to-be-a-1-percenter-in-the-washington-area/2012/02/01/gIQA571JiQ_story.html

It's pretty sad that someone with your level of reading comprehension qualifies as upper middle class or rich.

The MIDDLE class is the 25th to 75th percentile, e.g. the middle 50% of the economic scale. Roughly 25th-40th percentile is lower middle class. Roughly 40th-60th percentile is middle class and roughly 60th-75th percentile is upper middle class. Your are talking about the 99th percentile. So, what does the annual incomes of the 99th percentile have to do with the middle class?!?

If instead of some random media article with no statistics, no numbers and no facts, you resort to looking at say, census data (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/11000.html), you will see that it says that median income for all households is $58,526 in the District of Columbia and $51,914 nationwide. That is the 50th percentile. And if you calculate per capita (that means dividing by the number of people in the household), the median income per capita in DC is $42,078 and nationwide is $27,334. So in DC, average household size is 1.4 people and nationwide the average household size is 1.9.

Maryland state median income (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html) is $70,647 with average household size 2.02 and Virginia state median income is $61,406 with an average household size of 1.9 persons.

Those are the 50th percentile mark. So, while DC is high, it is not as relatively high as Maryland or Virginia. What is deceptive is that you probably do have more 1% in DC, but you also have more below the poverty level which is why the median value is lower than Maryland or Virginia.

However, it still means that middle class is somewhere in the $40-90K range for the DMV region.

Those who feel they are "barely scraping by" on $200-300K in this area have their heads in the clouds. Middle class is not a perception, but an economic state. Yes, middle class can afford more in areas around the country outside of the major metropolitan areas, but that doesn't mean that when you can't afford what middle class allows in other regions that you are middle class. It means you live in an exceptionally high COL region and that you need more to make ends meet. Sad the people that don't understand this.

ITA. I get so offended when people complain about how they can't have it all on $250k. People have no idea how lucky they are or how unrealistic their expectations are. To live in that house in Spring Valley, with 3 kids in private school, summers in Nantucket, ski vacations, a nanny and a cleaning lady takes a seven figure salary. So, it is not the DC market keeping them from that. It is about $750k in earned income. People are ungrateful and expect far too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As most of us suspect, middle class / rich threshold is much higher now a days, $380K nationally and $427k to $617K in the DC area

This is the reason why people in our area feel like they are barely scraping buy on $200k-$300k a year. To feel comfortable and upper middle class you would need to make about $350k-$500K in the DC area.

Some key findings from the articles:
[b]Nationally, the top 1 percent of all households had annual incomes of $387,000 or more in 2010.]/b]
The District’s threshold for a 1 percenter — $617,000
Maryland had the fifth-highest threshold, almost $477,000
Virginia’s was eighth highest, at more than $427,000.

Think Six Figures Makes You Successful? Not Anymore
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47980347

What it takes to be a 1 percenter in the Washington area
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/what-it-takes-to-be-a-1-percenter-in-the-washington-area/2012/02/01/gIQA571JiQ_story.html

It's pretty sad that someone with your level of reading comprehension qualifies as upper middle class or rich.

The MIDDLE class is the 25th to 75th percentile, e.g. the middle 50% of the economic scale. Roughly 25th-40th percentile is lower middle class. Roughly 40th-60th percentile is middle class and roughly 60th-75th percentile is upper middle class. Your are talking about the 99th percentile. So, what does the annual incomes of the 99th percentile have to do with the middle class?!?

If instead of some random media article with no statistics, no numbers and no facts, you resort to looking at say, census data (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/11000.html), you will see that it says that median income for all households is $58,526 in the District of Columbia and $51,914 nationwide. That is the 50th percentile. And if you calculate per capita (that means dividing by the number of people in the household), the median income per capita in DC is $42,078 and nationwide is $27,334. So in DC, average household size is 1.4 people and nationwide the average household size is 1.9.

Maryland state median income (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html) is $70,647 with average household size 2.02 and Virginia state median income is $61,406 with an average household size of 1.9 persons.

Those are the 50th percentile mark. So, while DC is high, it is not as relatively high as Maryland or Virginia. What is deceptive is that you probably do have more 1% in DC, but you also have more below the poverty level which is why the median value is lower than Maryland or Virginia.

However, it still means that middle class is somewhere in the $40-90K range for the DMV region.

Those who feel they are "barely scraping by" on $200-300K in this area have their heads in the clouds. Middle class is not a perception, but an economic state. Yes, middle class can afford more in areas around the country outside of the major metropolitan areas, but that doesn't mean that when you can't afford what middle class allows in other regions that you are middle class. It means you live in an exceptionally high COL region and that you need more to make ends meet. Sad the people that don't understand this.

ITA. I get so offended when people complain about how they can't have it all on $250k. People have no idea how lucky they are or how unrealistic their expectations are. To live in that house in Spring Valley, with 3 kids in private school, summers in Nantucket, ski vacations, a nanny and a cleaning lady takes a seven figure salary. So, it is not the DC market keeping them from that. It is about $750k in earned income. People are ungrateful and expect far too much.

Middle class houses







http://www.google.com/search?q=middle+class+house&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS487US487&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=rcjrT7HJEZS60QGK6vm8BQ&ved=0CFsQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=979

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the pp who posted this link: http://www.census.gov/const/C25Ann/sftotalmedavgsqft.pdf

Dd anyone notice WHERE the biggest houses are being built? Not the south or Midwest (um, Texas) , as we'd like to believe. The average home build size in the Northeast was the largest in the US in 2010. 2,600 sq ft. Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As most of us suspect, middle class / rich threshold is much higher now a days, $380K nationally and $427k to $617K in the DC area

This is the reason why people in our area feel like they are barely scraping buy on $200k-$300k a year. To feel comfortable and upper middle class you would need to make about $350k-$500K in the DC area.

Some key findings from the articles:
[b]Nationally, the top 1 percent of all households had annual incomes of $387,000 or more in 2010.]/b]
The District’s threshold for a 1 percenter — $617,000
Maryland had the fifth-highest threshold, almost $477,000
Virginia’s was eighth highest, at more than $427,000.

Think Six Figures Makes You Successful? Not Anymore
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47980347

What it takes to be a 1 percenter in the Washington area
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/what-it-takes-to-be-a-1-percenter-in-the-washington-area/2012/02/01/gIQA571JiQ_story.html

It's pretty sad that someone with your level of reading comprehension qualifies as upper middle class or rich.

The MIDDLE class is the 25th to 75th percentile, e.g. the middle 50% of the economic scale. Roughly 25th-40th percentile is lower middle class. Roughly 40th-60th percentile is middle class and roughly 60th-75th percentile is upper middle class. Your are talking about the 99th percentile. So, what does the annual incomes of the 99th percentile have to do with the middle class?!?

If instead of some random media article with no statistics, no numbers and no facts, you resort to looking at say, census data (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/11000.html), you will see that it says that median income for all households is $58,526 in the District of Columbia and $51,914 nationwide. That is the 50th percentile. And if you calculate per capita (that means dividing by the number of people in the household), the median income per capita in DC is $42,078 and nationwide is $27,334. So in DC, average household size is 1.4 people and nationwide the average household size is 1.9.

Maryland state median income (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html) is $70,647 with average household size 2.02 and Virginia state median income is $61,406 with an average household size of 1.9 persons.

Those are the 50th percentile mark. So, while DC is high, it is not as relatively high as Maryland or Virginia. What is deceptive is that you probably do have more 1% in DC, but you also have more below the poverty level which is why the median value is lower than Maryland or Virginia.

However, it still means that middle class is somewhere in the $40-90K range for the DMV region.

Those who feel they are "barely scraping by" on $200-300K in this area have their heads in the clouds. Middle class is not a perception, but an economic state. Yes, middle class can afford more in areas around the country outside of the major metropolitan areas, but that doesn't mean that when you can't afford what middle class allows in other regions that you are middle class. It means you live in an exceptionally high COL region and that you need more to make ends meet. Sad the people that don't understand this.

ITA. I get so offended when people complain about how they can't have it all on $250k. People have no idea how lucky they are or how unrealistic their expectations are. To live in that house in Spring Valley, with 3 kids in private school, summers in Nantucket, ski vacations, a nanny and a cleaning lady takes a seven figure salary. So, it is not the DC market keeping them from that. It is about $750k in earned income. People are ungrateful and expect far too much.

Middle class houses







http://www.google.com/search?q=middle+class+house&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS487US487&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=rcjrT7HJEZS60QGK6vm8BQ&ved=0CFsQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=979

So because some people on the Internet somewhere (how credible are these sources) call those homes middle class, your point is somehow made? Right. Go back to school.