Despite the steady decline in the middle class in much of the United States, a few cities are beginning to see the opposite trend. There are some cities in California in particular where the middle class appears to be thriving, according to a new study.
MoneyGeek analyzed more than 600 U.S. cities and found that the middle class is growing by 40% in these cities. Five California cities ranked among the top 10 fastest growing cities since 2018.
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The city with the largest increase in middle-class housing was Costa Mesa, which ranked fifth in the nation with a 7.6% increase. Costa Mesa has a population of just over 108,000 people and is considered middle class, with over 48% of residents earning between $67,622 and $202,866.
Turlock wasn’t far behind on the list in 6th place with a 7.2% increase. Residents here don’t have to earn as much as they do in Costa Mesa to be considered middle class, but if you earn between $54,397 and $163,190, you’re in the middle class.
Here’s how the other California cities made the list:
Differences between middle-income households in ranked cities in the United States (2018–23)Middle-income households (2023)Middle-income floor (2023)Middle-income upper limit (2023)Population (2023)5 Costa Mesa, California 7.6%48.9%$67,622$202,866108,3676 Turlock, California 7.2%46.8%$54,397$163,19072,0 997Alameda, California 7.0%45.4%$81,211$243,63475,3448Chino, California 6.9%51.2%$69,457$208,37093,12210Redlands; CA6.2%47.7%$65,295$195,88672,552(Provided by MoneyGeek)
To see the complete list of cities, you can view all the data on the MoneyGeek website.
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