Recent data has painted a stark picture of what it takes to achieve a middle-class lifestyle in California and Arizona, with the bar set increasingly high due to surging living costs and inflation. According to a study by the financial technology company, SmartAsset, residents in certain Valley cities of Arizona such as Gilbert and Scottsdale must earn some of the highest incomes in the country to be considered middle-class. Phoenix New Times reports that in Gilbert, a minimum household income of approximately $81,600 is necessary, marking it as the fifth highest in the nation.

Meanwhile, to fall within the same socio-economic bracket in Scottsdale, households must bring in at least $70,700 annually. Tucson, observed by the same report, contrasts starkly with a minimum middle-class income of just $37,135, which puts a family of five just above the federal poverty line. Prices for a middle-class existence have surged dramatically, by 43% since 2015, reflecting the broader economic landscape where salary needs to increase to maintain a semblance of stability and comfort.

California similarly ranks among the most expensive states for middle-class incomes. In a SmartAsset analysis covered by The Sacramento Bee , a California household in 2023 would need to earn between $63,674 to $190,644 to fit the bill. This represents an uptick compared to the previous year, indicating the persistent rise in the cost of living and shifting wage dynamics. Massachusetts leads the chart with a median annual income requirement of $66,565 to maintain a middle-class lifestyle, followed by New Jersey and Maryland, painting a broader national picture of the middle-class threshold.

With increasing living costs, one wonders what being middle-class entails today. "For middle-class Americans, the dream has long been a life of reasonable comfort — a stable home, the ability to save enough money to retire, and enough left over for periodic splurges like family vacations, updated cars, or home improvements," writes Jaclyn DeJohn from SmartAsset. Yet, as the threshold for this so-called comfortable living rises, the attainability of such a dream seems to drift for many, particularly in California's urban cores like San Jose, which holds the number one spot for the highest middle-class income range in the state.