If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

BUSINESS

57% of Working Americans Say They're Middle Class, Lowest Level in Two Years

One-in-five working Americans continue to classify themselves as poor, while the number of those who consider themselves middle class has fallen to a two-year low.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of working Adults shows that most (57%) still would describe themselves as middle class. Twenty percent (20%) view themselves as poor, while another 18% say they are upper middle class. Just two percent (2%) consider themselves wealthy. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Since April 2009, the number of adults classifying themselves as the working poor has ranged from a low of nine percent (9%) to a high of 22%. In May, 20% said they were working poor, while 61% described themselves as middle class. Sixty-eight percent (68%) regarded themselves as middle class in November 2009.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of adults expect to earn more money a year from today, down two points from May, but only 12% expect to make less money. Nearly half (47%) believe they will be earning about the same amount of money in one year’s time, up nine points from May and also the highest level measured in over two years.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available onTwitter or Facebook.

 The survey of 596 Employed Adults was conducted on July 5-6, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Want to read more?

Become a Rasmussen Reader to read the article

Have an account?

Log In

Become a Reader

Subscribe

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.

To learn more about our methodology, click here.