This Is How Much You Need To Be Middle Class In Oklahoma

Even though just about every metric of measure varies between all of us... different upbringings, backgrounds, education, skills, etc... there is one commonality that most Americans share.

We all want to make as much money as possible to provide us with the best life we can achieve. That much is universal.

While it's not as much as you'd expect, we all know every state is different in terms of financial independence.

What a so-called "poor" person makes in New York City may be what a wealthy person makes in Oklahoma, but with the most recent middle-class data, you might be surprised to see where you currently fall in this time of unprecedented inflation.

I know 2023 hasn't had much good news for any American in regard to money. Inflation always hurts the family's bottom line, but wouldn't you rather know instead of just trying to guess where you stand financially?

I stumbled across an article about the middle class in America, and how much it took in each state to achieve that status. If you didn't know, they define a "middle class" as a person or family that earns anywhere from two-thirds up to double what the average income is in any given place.

If you Googled it right now, you would see that the average median income in Oklahoma is $28,944, sort of. That's the number that resulted from the 2020 US Census.

If you put it in the official US Government inflation calculator, it quickly accounts for the crazy inflation we're experiencing as Americans, it becomes $34,186 in 2023--which is a few hundred dollars higher inflation than even in the heat of 2022s insane financial fluctuations.

Even as the government says inflation is coming down, the numbers don't lie. It's still going up.

While you can do the math yourself to determine where the middle class exists in Oklahoma, there's an app for that.

If you're single and make at least $34,175 annually in 2023, you're on the bottom edge of a middle class that extends all the way up to a little over $102,000 in this state.

One year ago that lower-middle-class bracket was $28,806 and capped at just over $86,000. A noticeably big jump for anyone who was excited to finally make it to the middle class only to have that rug pulled from beneath them.

If you're married or a household family of two, the figures slightly change. $42,552-$127,659.

To be a middle-class family of four, it scales up more. $60,178-$180,538.

The sliding scale represents how much of the ideal American life you can afford. If you make more than the big number, you're doing very well among the highest earners in the state.

If you make less than the small number, you're not poor, you just haven't reached the middle class yet.

Do what you need to do to grow over the next year. The trades are always looking for workers and the blue-collar pay is exceedingly higher than it used to be. After all, nearly every economic expert is predicting the next year to be even worse as still-familiar pandemic mandates are expected to sweep across the nation in the fall.