Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
December 28, 2020
The Center Square Newsblog recently ran some statistics that may be of interest to our readers.
Florida households must make at least $26,023 to reach middle class, study finds
In Florida, households must earn a minimum of $26,023 per year to be considered middle class, with the upper earnings boundary set at $117,719, according to a new 24/7 Wall St. analysis.
The total share of household income in Florida controlled by middle-class earners is 44.8%, 24/7 Wall St. reports. In comparison, the share of income in the state controlled by the top 5% of earners was 24.1%.
To determine the income requirements of the middle class in each state, 24/7 Wall St. examined family income quintiles in the 2018 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The website set the middle-class income range as between the lower limit of the second quintile and the upper limit of the fourth quintile, which covers six out of 10 Americans.
The middle class income range varies greatly by state, depending on the cost of living, the analysis found. In states where the threshold to move into the middle class is low, earnings across the board tend to be low and poverty rates higher, according to 24/7 Wall St. In addition, the distribution of income in such states is weighted toward the wealthy, the website found.
Florida households must make at least $117,017 to be in state’s top 20%
In Florida, households must earn a minimum of $117,017 per year to be among the top one-fifth of the state’s income earners, according to a new 24/7 Wall St. analysis examining the threshold of “richness” in all 50 states.
The total share of household income in Florida controlled by that top 20% of earners is 51.9%, 24/7 Wall St. reports. In the nation as a whole, the richest 20% of households earn at least $131,350 annually, according to the analysis.
And to be in the top 5% of income earners in Florida, households need to make at least $226,319 per year. The state’s current median household income stands at $59,227 annually, the report says.
To determine the income needed to be classified as rich in each state, 24/7 Wall St. examined household income data from a 2019 survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. In those states where the top 20% income threshold is higher than most – such as Massachusetts – residents face a higher cost of living, the analysis concluded.
63.8% of Florida households self-reported their 2020 census data, study finds
The percentage of households in Florida that self-responded in the Census Bureau’s 2020 count of the U.S. population stood at 63.8%, the 34th-highest rate among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., the federal agency reported.
As was the case in all the jurisdictions, 99.9% of households ultimately reported the number of residents occupying the homes, according to the Census Bureau. In Florida, the bureau had to send census takers to 36.1% of the households to complete the survey because of a lack of initial response, which is conducted every 10 years, the bureau reported.
The names of the people who respond to Census Bureau questions are not made public, and the bureau by law can only use the data to generate statistical information, the agency said. The information cannot be used by either courts or public agencies against the interests of citizens.
About 500,000 census takers across the country worked on the project, with the recruitment of census workers beginning in 2018, the bureau said. The final data will be used to redistrict political boundaries within states and to help determine the allocation of federal funds for an array of programs.
It is sad to think that $26,000 a year puts you in the middle class.