Middle class at $150k ?
"Rich" is a term that gets thrown around a lot in discussions about tax policy and income data, but judging from polling data there's a wide variation in how Americans define the word.Gallup recently released numbers showing $150,000 was the median annual income Americans would have to earn to consider themselves rich. But a closer look at the results reveals how difficult it is to define rich or middle class.
The Gallup data support the notion that the more money you make the higher the threshold considered rich. "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual household income in the United States is roughly $50,000 per year. The Gallup poll finds those below that level typically saying they would need to earn $100,000 or more in annual income to be rich. Those at or above that level typically report they would need to earn $200,000 a year to be rich, which expands to $250,000 among those well above the U.S. median income ($75,000 or more in annual household income)," writes Gallup's Jeffrey M. Jones.
-- Phil Izzo, Difficulties in Defining 'Rich': Is It $150,000 a Year ?
December 9, 2011 WSJ Real Time Economics