Social scientists use 3 common methods to define class—by occupation, income, or education—and there is really no consensus about the “right” way to do it. Michael Zweig, a leading scholar in ...

These cost increases mean that even families classified as middle class are struggling to keep up with expenses, especially as the costs of basic necessities are rising faster than the overall rate of ...

“The middle class is shrinking” might be the assertion of the decade. Progressives and populists alike use it to justify ...

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Sherry Linkon, co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University, about the difficulty of defining what "middle class" is today. We asked ...

Who makes up the middle class? Surveys suggest that half to 90 percent of Americans consider themselves members of the economic middle class. These respondents may have annual gross earnings of ...