Also depends greatly on where you live. In my area, it would be at least $200K.
And it gets even more subjective when you factor in people’s spending habits, which vary greatly…
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Or it could mean we’re barely making over $100k, but too afraid to admit it. This is a band, not a hard number, you often quote the higher number of this band to elicit more emotions.
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And it also depends on your assets.
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That’s true. I was referring only to income. So it is very vague, and subjective.
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I was using umc in the sense it had been defined upthread for this discussion: 4%ile. Someone had suggested this would be a rough approximation of full-pay families for private colleges (though of course that would depend on number and spacing of kids), and I thought that was a pretty good threshold to use for the purpose.
I don’t think there’s anywhere - even Beverly Hills - that $370k isn’t rich - unless maybe you’re Kate + John and 8.
It isn’t for some young people I know. They are still renting and living in apartment.
It’s well-off, but if you use the 3x income rule, it means that 370k is barely able to purchase a home in many coastal (and even select midwestern) areas, and that’s without considering educational debt…
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Here is the income band for top 5% in each state, not 4% but close.
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And at the opposite extreme are a few people I know who’ve inherited paid-off houses, and their original property tax rates, who can get by working part time at low paying jobs.
Housing cost is by far the biggest determining factor in income required for most people, and it’s just out of control in many areas.
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So many definitions of UMC (United Methodist Church, University Medical Center, Upper Middle Class). And even when talking about Upper Middle Class, there are still so many definitions. Although income is one of the biggest factors, things like education level and socioeconomic factors can play into the nomenclature. But, we’re not interested in such a long-winded discussion. 
One of the simplest ways I’ve seen economic classes broken down is by quintiles.
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1st quintile = 0-20th percentile = lower class
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2nd quintile = 20th-40th percentile = lower middle class
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3rd quintile = 40th-60th percentile = middle class
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4th quintile = 60th-80th percentile = upper middle class
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5th quintile = 80th-99th percentile = upper class
So, how do all these quintiles break down into income levels? (source)
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Lower class: < $27,000 household income
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Lower middle class: $27,000-$52,000 household income
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Middle class: $52,000-$85,000 household income
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Upper middle class: $85,000-$142,000 household income
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Upper class = $142,000+ household income
For reference, a household income of $200k is at the 89th percentile.
The median (50th percentile) household income is about $67k. The average household income is $96,955 (as listed on the chart below). That just goes to show in which direction outliers are pulling the average.
Looking at percentages like this can make some people (including myself) feel uncomfortable. Taking @tsbna44’s teachers in Tennessee, if two teachers married each other a few years after they started teaching, they’d be at the lower end of UMC, by this definition. I strongly suspect that the vast majority of posters on this forum are upper class, by the definitions used above. Then again, I don’t think most people on this thread are using the term UMC to describe a household income between $85-142k.
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370k is not rich in Manhattan.
It is not even upper middle class.
Upper middle class probably goes from 0.5-2.
… for a family of 4.
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Looks like the source you’re quoting is for the entire country. The problem with that is the great variations between areas. What might be solidly middle class or even upper middle class in one area could be barely above poverty in another.
Again, assuming a family of four.
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https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcitynewyork/HSG010221
According to the last census the median household income in NYC is $67k.
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https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcountynewyork,newyorkcitynewyork/PST045221 says that the median household income of New York County (= Manhattan) is $89,812, or about a quarter of the “370k is not rich in Manhattan”.
Moderately priced housing is running $10 per sft per month. If you are going to be upper middle class, let’s say you need a 1500 sft apartment. That is 15000 a month. 200k a year in rent.
If you made 500k, your taxes are 50% (or more). Your take home 250k. You pay 200k in rent. Remember you are UMC, and so you at least need a 1500sft apartment for the family… Two private school tuitions will cost about 120k a year.
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One UMC couple I know, each has income over $250k, but they rent and pay about $2700 for one bedroom. Who knows what else they need to pay, it’s really hard to judge.
I believe a good number of my friends are less worried about upward mobility that comes with higher paying professions and more worried their young adult children are choosing not to get married and possibly forgoing parenthood.
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Federal Income Tax Calculator (2022-2023) says that $500k single filing status in New York County pays an overall federal, payroll, state, and local tax rate of 43%, leaving $285k after that. Most people overestimate the income and payroll taxes that they pay.
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Living in the city is a choice. Plenty of people commute in from lower cost of living areas.
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