{"id":3180,"date":"2026-07-15T06:35:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T06:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3180"},"modified":"2026-07-15T06:35:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T06:35:59","slug":"this-is-how-much-money-you-need-to-earn-in-sc-to-be-in-the-middle-class-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3180","title":{"rendered":"This is how much money you need to earn in SC to be in the middle class in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>For generations, joining the middle class has been a cornerstone of the American Dream.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3178\">Plans add 118 townhomes behind Columbia neighborhood near I-77, VA hospital<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a status that historically meant a person had achieved a stable income, owned a decent-sized house, took vacations, funded college tuition for their kids and saved enough for retirement.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The core middle class was once the largest economic population segment in the U.S. out of five classes (poor, lower-middle class, core-middle class, upper-middle class, wealthy), and now it\u2019s shrinking, but for a reason you might not expect.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>According to a recent report from the American Enterprise Institute, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., in 2001, <b>33.2<\/b>% of the population was in the core middle class, and as of 2024, that percentage had dropped to <b>30.8%.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t shrink because people became poorer; quite the opposite. More people\u2019s incomes outgrew the core-middle class range and ended up in the upper-middle class. In 2001, <b>21.9%<\/b> of the population was in the upper-middle class, and as of 2024, the percentage went up to <b>31.1%<\/b>, making it the largest economic segment in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>However, reaching the middle class still takes a little more money each year. SmartAsset, a financial technology company, released a study that shows how much money a person in each state needs to make to reach a middle-class lifestyle in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The study used Pew Research\u2019s definition of middle income \u2014 two-thirds to double the median household income \u2014 to calculate the middle-class income ranges for all 50 states based on the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3176\">Highest temperatures ever recorded in SC revealed by SCNDR data<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how much money a person in South Carolina needs to make in 2026 to be considered middle-class, according to SmartAsset:<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Income needed in SC to be middle class<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Compared to other states, it doesn\u2019t take much to be considered middle-class in SC.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>SC ranked 38th among the most expensive states for middle-class living in 2026. A South Carolinian only needs an income of $48,233 to join the lower-middle class, $72,350 to join the core-middle class and $144,700 to join the upper-middle class.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>This is a jump from last year\u2019s report, when SmartAsset said a person in SC only needed $45,198 to $135,608 to be considered middle-class.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Currently, the average income for households in SC is $95,567, and the median income is $69,324.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>5 states with the most income needed to be middle class<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In these five states, you can make more than $200,000 and still be considered middle-class. Here\u2019s how much you need to make just to be considered middle class in these states:<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3174\">SC has 2 of the worst cities in the US for bed bugs in 2026, Orkin says. Here\u2019s where<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Massachusetts<\/b>: Middle-class income is between$69,885 and $209,656<\/li>\n<li><b>New Jersey<\/b>: Middle-class income is between $69,529 and $208,588<\/li>\n<li><b>Maryland<\/b>: Middle-class income is between $68,603 and $205,810<\/li>\n<li><b>Hawaii:<\/b> Middle-class income is between $67,163 and $201,490<\/li>\n<li><b>California:<\/b> Middle-class income is between $66,766 and $200,298<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As inflation increases and the dollar becomes less valuable, it takes more money in 2026 to be considered middle-class. Here\u2019s how much you need to make in SC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-carolina"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This is how much money you need to earn in SC to be in the middle class in 2026 - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3180\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This is how much money you need to earn in SC to be in the middle class in 2026 - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As inflation increases and the dollar becomes less valuable, it takes more money in 2026 to be considered middle-class. 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