The old definition of middle class was anyone well above starvation, but also also someone without inherited wealth, e.g. a lawyer or a doctor, mainly because we had no idea who made what. Today, we have stats courtesy of the income tax, exactly what middle class means. The broadest definition is probably the 50% of households on either side of the household median income. Upper middle class would be the top end of that 50%, and lower middle class would be the low end of that 50%. Based on census numbers, the following are the household incomes corresponding to various percentiles listed at 10% intervals:
| Household Income Percentile | Minimum Income to Reach, 2015 |
| 10% | $13,234.00 |
| 20% | $22,680.00 |
| 30% | $32,068.00 |
| 40% | $43,309.00 |
| 50% | $56,025.00 |
| 60% | $72,000.00 |
| 70% | $90,564.00 |
| 80% | $116,890.00 |
| 90% | $161,915.00 |
What is middle class in one place is poverty level in another and upper middle class is most assuredly MUCH higher than those figures!