Here are 4 surprising signs you’re no longer middle class in America. Have you managed to climb your way up yet?
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Many Americans are content with living a middle-class lifestyle, but you might be surprised that not everyone who thinks they’re in this bracket actually qualifies.
So, aside from the disposable income to go to baseball games and crack through a case of fireworks on the Fourth of July, what does being middle class even mean, anyway?
Pew Research Center defines the middle class as those with income that’s between two-thirds and double the national median (1).
As of January 2026, the median weekly U.S. earnings for full-time workers was $1,159 per week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2). That puts the median annual wage at $60,268, assuming a 52-week work year.
According to this formula, if you earn less than $39,776, you’re considered lower-income. And if you earn more than $120,536, you’re upper class. However, regional cost of living differences can heavily impact both disposable income and savings power.
With that in mind, here are some signs that you’re no longer a member of the middle class but have started to climb the ladder.
The first step to figuring out where you stand is to assess your saving power. After all, the point behind rising through income brackets is to have enough money at your disposal to secure a future without having to worry about work.
On that front, Americans on the whole have been doing better each year. Fidelity reported that the average retirement balance for Q3 of 2025 was $144,400 (3). That’s up 9% since the same time the previous year, and a leap of 30% since 2020 — just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you’re able to save a larger percentage of your income for retirement, then it may be that you’re earning enough to move beyond the middle class.
On an average middle-class income, many workers struggle to fund a retirement plan to begin with, let alone save a higher percentage of their salary than the typical worker.
But if you’re struggling to get started, there are tools for lowering the bar to get into investing.
Finding the headspace to sock away a little bit of money each year, let alone each month, can be tricky if you’re not used to factoring savings into your budget.
For those struggling to save, know that you’re not alone. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the national savings rate was only 3.6% of disposable income in December 2025 (4). This means that after taxes and other expenses, most Americans are barely able to save.
To start building good habits, you might want to work with a platform that makes saving easy — and lets you start small to see if it’s a comfortable adjustment for your budget.
Acorns is an automated investing and saving platform that simplifies the process of setting aside extra funds.
That morning coffee for $4.25? It’s now a 75-cent investment in your future.
With consistent contributions to blue-chip ETFs like VOO, which tracks the S&P 500, Acorns ensures your money can grow steadily, and your spare change can be a real contribution to your retirement fund.
But if saving your spare change isn’t enough, Acorns also lets you set up recurring monthly contributions for your portfolio.
Once you’ve locked in a savings strategy, it’s time to start thinking about sustaining yourself.
If you earn a large amount of passive income on top of the wages your employer pays you, it may be that you’re no longer middle class.
Many high earners have reliable income sources other than their paychecks, from rental properties to investment portfolios. Many of these pay regular dividends.
Smart investors look to real estate not only to diversify their holdings but also to provide them with regular income. One popular area for raking in dividends is real estate.
You can tap into this market by investing in shares of vacation homes or rental properties through Arrived.
Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.
Another option is mogul, a real estate investment platform offering fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, which gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a hefty down payment or 3 a.m. tenant calls.
Each property undergoes a vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10 to 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.
Getting started is a quick and easy process. You can sign up for an account and then browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.
But real estate is just one avenue to explore. Those looking for a truly diversified portfolio could also try tapping into alternative assets.
If you have a strong retirement fund in place, you might consider diversifying your investments to try preserving your wealth with a gold IRA.
Gold is typically used as a store of value during market downturns, but it’s also had a banner year. For example, the spot price of gold is up over 70% year over year, despite a pullback in late January (5).
As an industry leader in precious metals and an authorized dealer for the U.S. Mint, Thor Metals gives you the opportunity to diversify your retirement portfolio and stabilize your finances in the face of persistent inflation. Gold is historically a strong performer in the market, and this individual retirement account allows you to invest in gold while benefiting from the tax advantages of an IRA.
Request your free information kit from Thor Metals to find out if this retirement account is right for you. Even better, qualifying purchases can also get up to $20,000 in free metals.
Just keep in mind that gold is often best used as one part of a well-diversified portfolio.
But real estate and gold aren’t the only alternative assets available. If you want to get outside of U.S. markets, there are even fewer options available.
However, there’s one globally recognized asset class that is distinct from the American market. It also has a near-zero correlation with the S&P 500, for an extra potential layer of insulation.
Even better, high net worth individuals surveyed by UBS said they think it’s a relatively safe investment compared to other traditional assets like stocks (7).
The asset in question? Post-war and contemporary art.
That’s why billionaires have long carved out a slice of their portfolios for art. The combination of low market correlation and strong rebound potential can make for an appealing one-two punch.
It may sound surprising, but more than 70,000 investors have followed suit since 2019 — through Masterworks. Now you can own fractional shares of works by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso and more.
Masterworks has sold 25 artworks so far, yielding net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6% and 17.8% among assets held for longer than a year.
And the best part? Moneywise readers can get priority access to diversify with art, and skip the waitlist to get investing today.
Note that past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd
Many people don’t think about taxes until the time comes to file their yearly return. But if you’re actively taking steps — either on your own or with the help of an accountant — to lower your tax burden, then it may be that your income is high enough to go beyond the middle class.
These tax-reducing strategies may include maxing out retirement plans, taking losses on investments to offset capital gains (and some ordinary income), and increasing charitable contributions.
You can find an experienced financial advisor near you for free through Advisor.com. Their network comprises fiduciaries — who are legally obligated to act in your best interests — so you can trust the advice you’re getting is unbiased.
What’s more, advisors on the platform go through a rigorous vetting process based on track record, assets under management (AUM), client ratios, and regulatory background.
Middle-income households often have to take on debt to cover their basic needs — especially given the impact of inflation in recent years. Case in point: Between the end of 2022 and the end of 2023, total U.S. credit card balances rose from $931 billion to $1.05 trillion, according to TransUnion.
But if the only debt you’re carrying is a mortgage and you can cover your expenses without having to charge a portion of your bills on a credit card, then it may be that you have surpassed the middle class.
