You can make $200,000 a year and still be ‘middle class' in these 3 states—they're not California or New York

Many Americans made more money in 2023 than the year prior, bringing the national household median income up to $80,610, according to U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey estimates.

Middle class is commonly defined as earning between two-thirds and double the household median income. That means on a national level, the middle class includes households earning between $53,740 and $161,220 a year. 

But on a state level, median incomes vary quite widely, as you can see in the map below:

As a result, middle class salaries can look very different from state to state. Here are household incomes that fall in the middle class in each state, plus the District of Columbia:

Alabama

• Median household income: $60,660
• Middle class income range: $40,440 to $121,320

Alaska

• Median household income: $98,190
• Middle class income range: $65,460 to $196,380

Arizona

• Median household income: $82,660
• Middle class income range: $55,107 to $165,320

Arkansas

• Median household income: $63,250
• Middle class income range: $42,167 to $126,500

California

• Median household income: $89,870
• Middle class income range: $59,913 to $179,740

Colorado

• Median household income: $96,640
• Middle class income range: $64,427 to $193,280

Connecticut

• Median household income: $92,240
• Middle class income range: $61,493 to $184,480

Delaware

• Median household income: $86,340
• Middle class income range: $57,560 to $172,680

District of Columbia

• Median household income: $111,000
• Middle class income range: $74,000 to $222,000

Florida

• Median household income: $72,200
• Middle class income range: $48,133 to $144,400

Georgia

• Median household income: $72,420
• Middle class income range: $48,280 to $144,840

Hawaii

• Median household income: $97,360
• Middle class income range: $64,907 to $194,720

Idaho

• Median household income: $73,910
• Middle class income range: $49,273 to $147,820

Illinois

• Median household income: $87,820
• Middle class income range: $58,547 to $175,640

Indiana

• Median household income: $76,910
• Middle class income range: $51,273 to $153,820

Iowa

• Median household income: $80,860
• Middle class income range:$53,907 to $161,720

Kansas

• Median household income: $84,830
• Middle class income range: $56,553 to $169,660

Kentucky

• Median household income: $61,980
• Middle class income range:$41,320 to $123,960

Louisiana

• Median household income: $57,650
• Middle class income range: $38,433 to $115,300

Maine

• Median household income: $75,740
• Middle class income range: $50,493 to $151,480

Maryland

• Median household income: $102,000
• Middle class income range: $68,000 to $204,000

Massachusetts

• Median household income: $106,500
• Middle class income range: $71,000 to $213,000

Michigan

• Median household income: $76,960
• Middle class income range: $51,307 to $153,920

Minnesota

• Median household income: $90,340
• Middle class income range: $60,227 to $180,680

Mississippi

• Median household income: $55,060
• Middle class income range: $36,707 to $110,120

Missouri

• Median household income: $78,290
• Middle class income range: $52,193 to $156,580

Montana

• Median household income: $79,220
• Middle class income range: $52,813 to $158,440

Nebraska

• Median household income: $89,190
• Middle class income range: $59,460 to $178,380

Nevada

• Median household income: $81,310
• Middle class income range: $54,207 to $162,620

New Hampshire

• Median household income: $98,780
• Middle class income range: $65,853 to $197,560

New Jersey

• Median household income: $91,590
• Middle class income range: $61,060 to $183,180

New Mexico

• Median household income: $60,980
• Middle class income range: $40,653 to $121,960

New York

• Median household income: $81,600
• Middle class income range: $54,400 to $163,200

North Carolina

• Median household income: $68,610
• Middle class income range: $45,740 to $137,220

North Dakota

• Median household income: $76,960
• Middle class income range: $51,307 to $153,920

Ohio

• Median household income: $73,770
• Middle class income range: $49,180 to $147,540

Oklahoma

• Median household income: $67,330
• Middle class income range: $44,887 to $134,660

Oregon

• Median household income: $88,740
• Middle class income range: $59,160 to $177,480

Pennsylvania

• Median household income: $79,820
• Middle class income range: $53,213 to $159,640

Rhode Island

• Median household income: $81,860
• Middle class income range: $54,573 to $163,720

South Carolina

• Median household income: $69,100
• Middle class income range: $46,067 to $138,200

South Dakota

• Median household income: $81,740
• Middle class income range: $54,493 to $163,480

Tennessee

• Median household income: $72,700
• Middle class income range: $48,467 to $145,400

Texas

• Median household income: $79,060
• Middle class income range: $52,707 to $158,120

Utah

• Median household income: $101,200
• Middle class income range: $67,467 to $202,400

Vermont

• Median household income: $85,190
• Middle class income range: $56,793 to $170,380

Virginia

• Median household income: $96,490
• Middle class income range: $64,327 to $192,980

Washington

• Median household income: $93,440
• Middle class income range: $62,293 to $186,880

West Virginia

• Median household income: $60,410
• Middle class income range: $40,273 to $120,820

Wisconsin

• Median household income: $79,690
• Middle class income range: $53,127 to $159,380

Wyoming

• Median household income: $77,200
• Middle class income range: $51,467 to $154,400

Low or no-minimum wages may bring down incomes in and around the South

Maryland and the District of Columbia feature median household incomes above $100,000. Residents in these places, as well as nearby Virginia, are historically high-earning, since many government, law, tech and finance workers collect big salaries.

But they are outliers for the region.

The South is the lowest-earning region overall. Half of the states there have median household incomes below $70,000 a year. In Mississippi, for example, the median household income was $55,060 in 2023, the lowest in the nation, according to Census Bureau data.

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Part of the reason for low incomes in the South is a lack of state minimum wages in five Southern states — Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina — and low minimum wages in others. Only six of the 16 Southern states plus D.C. have state-mandated minimum wages higher than the federal minimum of $7.25.

Georgia's minimum wage is even lower at $5.15, but workers there are entitled to earn the federal minimum rate.

Utah and Massachusetts join the six-figure median club

In 2022, only Maryland and D.C. had median household incomes above $100,000. In 2023, Massachusetts and Utah joined them.

When the median household income is at least $100,000, the middle class will include households earning over $200,000. That's the case in Massachusetts, Maryland and Utah, as well as Washington, D.C., where families earn a median of $111,000 — the highest in the country.

In Massachusetts, high-paying industries like biotech, health care and finance, plus a highly educated population, help boost the state's incomes. Over 1 in 5 households in Massachusetts earned over $200,000 in 2023, according to Census Bureau American Community Survey data. Still, about 27% of households there earned below $50,000.

Utah attracts high-earners thanks to a relatively low and flat income tax rate that helps those with big salaries keep more of their paychecks. Its state economy has also been resilient and growing pretty consistently for over a decade, at times expanding faster than the national rate. It ranks No. 6 in CNBC's 2024 rankings of the best state economies.

Still, the Northeast is the highest-earning region in the country. Only two states there — Maine and Pennsylvania — have local median household incomes lower than the national median. In Massachusetts, the highest-earning state, families earn a median of $106,500. No other state in the Northeast had a six-figure median, though New Hampshire came close at $98,780.

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