Here’s How Much Money It Takes In GA To Be Middle Class

GEORGIA — About half of Americans are part of the middle class, but what it takes to be considered middle class isn’t the same in Georgia as it is in other places, according to a recent study.

“Middle class” is an inherently nebulous definition. The Pew Research Center defines people in the middle class as those whose incomes are between two-thirds and double the national median household income. Overall, nearly 20 percent of Americans have upper-class incomes, 28 percent have lower-class incomes and the vast majority fall into the middle class.

Because cost of living and average incomes vary so widely from state to state, the income needed to be “middle class” also greatly varies. Using Pew’s definition of the middle class, online banking company GOBanking.com analyzed the most recent American Community Survey data to determine middle-class income for every state in 2025.

In Georgia, where the median household income is $71,355, middle-class incomes range from $47,570 to $142,710.

The median household income is higher in Georgia than in Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.

The Pew Research Center’s middle-class income calculator shows differences by metro area and by race or ethnicity, age, gender

It shows that 24 percent of metro Atlanta residents in families of five are in the lower income tier.

Compared to the rest of the U.S., 64.5 percent of Black married couples in Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in the age range of 18-29 with a median household income of $71,355 are considered middle income. About 15.5 percent of people in this group are considered upper income and 20 percent are considered lower-income.

These numbers change for the white population with fairly similar demographics and the same median income: 63.9 percent are middle income, 24.8 percent are upper income and 11.3 percent are lower income.