Coast to Coast: Unveiling the middle-class income benchmarks in Florida, Texas, and California

Over the past decade, the middle-class household income requirement has risen by 41.67%. Freepik

The income required for households to be considered middle-class in California, Texas and Florida, three of the states with the largest Latino populations in the U.S., varies significantly and has steadily increased over the years. Concretely, it has done so by 41.67%, according to a recent report by personal finance outlet GOBankingrates.

The document shows that, while a household income of $35,364 was enough for a household to reach the threshold on average in 2012; the figure increased to $50,099 ten years later.The outlet defined "middle class" as those with an annual household income that is two-thirds to twice the median income.

In that year, Mississippi had the lowest household income needed to be considered middle class at $35,323, while Maryland had the highest at $65,641.

Looking at Latino-heavy states, the minimum income to be considered middle class in California was $61,270 in 2022. In Texas, a household needed to earn at least $48,690 in 2022 to be considered middle class, While the figure for Florida was $45,278 annually in 2022, according to the report.

The increase in the cost of living over the years varied depending on the state. The study shows that Alaska was where the household income needed to be considered middle class increased the least, by just 23.53% from 2012 to 2022. In Oregon, in contrast, the household income needed to be middle class has increased by 53.15% over the period — the biggest increase of any state.

Among the three heavily Latino states mentioned earlier, Texas was the one with a smaller increase over the decade, at 41.64%. California had the highest 10-year change in middle-class income at 49.68%.