Middle-income households earned between $56,600 and $169,800 last year, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s quite a range. Any income that that’s two-thirds to double the regional median is considered “middle income.”
As such, the trappings of “middle class” vary household to household, location to location. In new research, GOBankingRates determined the areas with the highest-earning middle class, and Wellesley cracks the top 10.
The personal finance site analyzed the median incomes across all U.S. cities with populations of 10,000 or more, then ranked the wealthiest ones based on Pew’s definition of middle-income.
Hillsborough, California, came in at No. 1 with $359,967 being the minimum income to be considered middle class.
Further down the list, at No. 10., is Wellesley, where $245,201 is the minimum income to be considered middle class. The maximum, meanwhile, is $735,602.
The full list of the wealthiest middle-class areas includes:
1. Hillsborough, California
2. Short Hills, New Jersey
3. Winnetka, Illinois
4. Piedmont, California
5. Alamo, California
6. Paradise Valley, Arizona
7. University Park, Texas
8. Hinsdale, Illinois
9. Great Falls, Virginia
10. Wellesley, Massachusetts