Who is Middle Class in the US?

Although we read and hear many references to the "middle class," there is no official definition of who qualifies as middle class. Many people assume it means a certain level of income, homeownership, and a steady income. A recent study by the Pew Research Center defined middle class in relation to the median U.S. income of $55,000. Pew considered the middle class as households with 2/3 to 2 times the national median income ($55,000), which in 2010 amounted to $35,294 to $105,881 after taxes. Check out pew's middle class calculator for European countries and the U.S.: http://www.pewglobal.org/interactives/european-middle-class-calculator/

As reported in the NYT “Middle class contracted in US over two decades, study finds” by Nelson D. Schwartz, April 24, 2017.

What percent are you? How does your income compare? Who is middle class?

Compare your income to other Americans and see where you fit in.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/03/02/what-percent-are-you-2/
And you might be interested in who is middle class:
Who is a middle-income American? For much of the nation, the answer is simple: it’s me, and perhaps people who earn less than I do.
"The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, released Friday, showed the overwhelming majority of the public — 90% — defining a “middle-income household” as families with total income at or below $100,000. Americans have a strong inclination to consider people in their own income brackets to be middle-income."
"The findings suggest Americans may have a narrower definition of middle-income households than many politicians do. Some lawmakers often put the cut-off closer to $200,000 or $250,000 (in many cases using the looser term “middle class”), leading them to look out closely for taxpayers who earn more than what the rest of the nation might consider to be middle-income." Details at:  http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/09/13/how-do-you-define-middle-class-people-who-make-what-i-do/

Why There's No Financial Advice for Most Americans

“America's middle class needs a lot of help managing its finances. The financial industry isn't providing much.”

“The latest failed experiment in bringing affordable financial advice to the masses is online platform Nestwise. The startup was shut down on Sept. 1, despite backing by the U.S.’s largest independent broker-dealer, LPL Financial Holdings Inc.”

“In May 2012, then-LPL senior executive Esther Stearns, 53, launched Nestwise; she left the company last month. Stearns, who says she can’t discuss the decision to close Nestwise, agreed to talk about the lessons learned from the startup and whether eventually there will be cost-effective ways to get advice to those who arguably need it most.” Read the interview by Ben Steverman for Bloomberg News at: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-10-22/why-theres-no-financial-advice-for-most-americans

Financial Planning for the Middle Class

USA Today has an article, “Middle class struggles to get good financial advice,” by Christine Dugas that addresses how financial advisors and websites are beginning to cater to the needs of the middle class.  The article contains links to some great websites and resources. Check it out: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/05/05/middle-class-financial-advice/2090441/