Making the middle class is tougher in Delaware than most states — except one First State city with the nation’s highest percentage of middle-class residents.
The middle class is a socioeconomic group that falls between the working class and the upper class. They are likely to have enough disposable income to afford eating out and vacationing, but also rely on loans for their homes, cars and college costs, according to Investopia.
Delaware ranks 14th in the country with the highest income range to qualify for middle class, according to a report by GOBankingRates.
Dover, Delaware, though, is the city with the biggest share of middle class residents in the United States at 65 percent, Investopedia reports.
The First State will also claim the largest single increase in minimum wages for 2025, with a $1.75 per-hour hike from $13.25 to $15.00 per hour starting on January 1st.
How much do you need to earn to be considered middle class in Delaware?
According to the United States Census Bureau, the median household income in the nation is $78,538, with middle-income households in the U.S. earning between approximately $56,600 and $169,800, Pew Research Center reported. Households earning less than $56,600 were considered lower-income, while those earning more than $169,800 were classified as upper-income.
Here is what middle class means in Delaware and a calculator to check where you fall in your city.
What is middle class in Delaware?
According to GOBankingRates, Delaware’s middle class income in 2022 (the most recent year available from Census data) was between $52,883 and $158,650.
Delaware’s median household income is $79,325, according to the Census Bureau, just above the national average of $78,538.
To be in the top 10% of earners in Delaware, you’d need to earn $254,449, according to Yahoo Finance. In 2024, the pre-tax salary required to be in the top 1% of earners in Delaware is $526,900.
The Pew Research Center reports that 52% of U.S. adults lived in middle-income households in 2022, approximately 28% were in lower-income households and 19% were in upper-income households.
The calculator below shows your earning class based on income and location.
What is middle class in New Jersey and Pennsylvania?
In Delaware, middle class wages are between $52,883 and $158,650.
In New Jersey, middle class wages are between $64,750 and $194,252.
In Pennsylvania, middle class wages are between $48,780 and $146,340.
What is Delaware’s minimum wage?
Starting Jan. 1, Delaware will join a short list of nine states with a minimum wage of at least $15.
With the new $15 minimum wage, Delaware joins a growing list of states hitting this benchmark. However, it still lags behind leaders like Washington, D.C., where the minimum wage will go to $17.50 (with a second bump set for later in the year), and states like Washington, Connecticut and California, where rates will hit at least $16 in 2025.
Closer to home, New Jersey is hiking the minimum wage to $15.49 on Jan. 1 — a cost-of-living changes after years of gradual bumps aimed at getting to $15 per hour.
Pennsylvania, in stark contrast, remains at the federal minimum of $7.25, though there are stalled legislative efforts to change that.
States have to set their minimum wage at or above the federal minimum, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Middle class in Delaware: Here’s the income calculator