How much you need to earn to be upper middle class in every state

What does it mean to be rich? Poor? Somewhere in between?

That was the idea behind a recent analysis from GoBankingRates.com that looked at how much you’d have to earn to be above the below but below the upper in every state.

GoBankingRates examined how much you have to earn to be upper middle class – defined as the top 20% of earners in the middle-class range – in each state. Middle-class was defined as those with an income two-thirds to double the median income of an area.

What the analysis showed was “upper middle class” varied widely based on where you live. For example, in Mississippi, a household income of $91,841 will land you in the upper middle class. In Maryland, however, you’d need $170,666 to earn the same designation.

In Alabama, the median household income is $59,609, To be upper middle class in Alabama, you’d need to have a household income of at least $103,322.

Here are the 10 states with the lowest threshold for being upper middle class:

  1. Mississippi – $91,841
  2. West Virginia -$95,709
  3. Arkansas – $97,647
  4. Louisiana – $100,277
  5. New Mexico – $101,785
  6. Alabama – $103,322
  7. Kentucky – $104,317
  8. Oklahoma – $106,364
  9. South Carolina – $110,280
  10. Tennessee – $110,994

And the 10 states with the highest upper middle-class household income threshold:

  1. Maryland – $170,666
  2. New Jersey – $168,352
  3. Massachusetts – $167,275
  4. Hawaii – $164,344
  5. California – $159,302
  6. New Hampshire – $157,465
  7. Connecticut – $156,369
  8. Colorado – $151,837
  9. Virginia – $151,232
  10. Utah – $150,511

You can see the complete list here