Who Belongs to the Middle Class? Identifying Them Using Monthly Family Income

Abstract

Social class is a significant factor that influences an individual’s health, education, and lifestyle, among other things. However, there is no standard income-based scale that can classify individuals into different social classes for comparability across studies. In this article, we outlined the method of using monthly family income to identify the middle class of a country and how to use it to define the lower and upper class by using a widely accepted definition of the middle class and implemented it to determine the threshold for middle class family using the monthly median income of a country. This method can be used by any country to classify the community as “lower class” (<75% of the median income), “middle class” (75-125% of the median income) and “upper class” (>125% of the median income). We also presented an example using data from Bangladesh. The results were then adjusted for inflation to provide a guideline for updating the income limits for any future year. The social class in 2023 based on the monthly household income was <12,500 BDT for lower class, 12,500 to 21,500 BDT for middle class and >21,500 BDT for upper class after inflation.  This method of social class classification can be used for grouping study participants into comparable socioeconomic categories in the context of any country and can be updated easily in the future.