{"id":449873,"date":"2026-09-01T11:04:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/449873\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:04:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:04:21","slug":"study-how-much-income-is-considered-middle-class-in-the-bay-area-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/449873\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: How much income is considered middle-class in the Bay Area? \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study looks at how much annual household income it takes to be considered middle-class<\/a> in the most expensive cities in the U.S. Not surprisingly, Bay Area cities took up eight spots in the list of the 10 most expensive cities with a population over 100,000, compiled by MoneyLion, a mobile banking company.<\/p>\n

The most affluent city on the list was Sunnyvale, with a median household income of $186,170 in 2024. However, to be considered upper-middle-class in the city, you will have to make in the range of $289,600 to $372,340, according to the study. In fact, in Sunnyvale, Fremont, Santa Clara and San Mateo, a household has to make in the $300K-plus range to be considered upper middle class.<\/p>\n

The middle-class range in the study had a lower and upper limit. It used Pew Research\u2019s definition of middle class: two-thirds of the median household income on the lower end to double the median number on the upper end. Therefore, you could still be considered middle-class in Sunnyvale if your household made $124,113 a year, according to the data. Here are the results from the top 10 list:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Sunnyvale, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $186,170
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $124,113
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $372,340
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $124,113 to $206,856
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $289,600 to $372,340<\/p>\n

2. San Mateo, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $153,504
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $102,336
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $307,008
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $102,336 to $170,560
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $238,786 to $307,008<\/p>\n

3. San Francisco<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $140,970
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $93,980
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $281,940
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $93,980 to $156,633
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $219,289 to $281,940<\/p>\n

4. Santa Clara, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $178,958
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $119,305
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $357,916
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $119,305 to $198,842
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $278,381 to $357,916<\/p>\n

5. Berkeley, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $108,092
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $72,061
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $216,184
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $72,061 to $120,102
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $168,145 to $216,184<\/p>\n

6. Fremont, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $181,506
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $121,004
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $363,012
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $121,004 to $201,673
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $282,345 to $363,012<\/p>\n

7. San Jose, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $146,427
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $97,618
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $292,854
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $97,618 to $162,697
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $227,777 to $292,854<\/p>\n

8. Daly City, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $123,547
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $82,365
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $247,094
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $82,365 to $137,274
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $192,186 to $247,094<\/p>\n

9. Bellevue, Washington<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $165,576
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $110,384
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $331,152
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $110,384 to $183,973
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $257,565 to $331,152<\/p>\n

10. Glendale, California<\/p>\n

2024 median household income: $88,393
\nLowest end of middle-class income: $58,929
\nHighest end of middle-class income: $176,786
\nLower-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $58,929 to $98,214
\nUpper-middle-class range (lowest end-highest end): $137,502 to $176,786<\/p>\n

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