Think You’re Middle Class? Here’s How Much Money That Takes In RI

RHODE ISLAND — About half of Americans are part of the middle class, but what it takes to be considered middle class isn’t the same in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island, where the median household income is $81,370, middle-class incomes range from $54,246 to $162,740. That means it takes less money in Rhode Island to be in the middle class as it does in neighboring states Massachusetts ($64,336) and Connecticut ($60,141), according to the Pew Research Center. Though this doesn't mean living a middle class lifestyle is affordable, as Rhode Island still has a higher barrier to entry than 35 states.

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

It shows that 56.5 percent of Providence-Warwick area residents have middle-class incomes of around $81,370 compared to 52 percent of U.S. residents.

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