A greater number of Republicans, compared to Democrats, now identify themselves as part of the working class or lower class.
Fifty-four percent of Americans consider themselves part of the middle class, with 39% identifying as “middle class” and 15% as “upper-middle class.” Additionally, 31% describe themselves as “working class,” while 12% identify as “lower class.” Only 2% of U.S. adults classify themselves as “upper class.”
These findings are consistent with trends observed since the Great Recession. Prior to that period, Americans were more inclined to identify themselves as middle or upper-middle class and less likely to consider themselves part of the working or lower class.
The interactive chart below shows the “Americans’ Social Class Self-Identification, 2002-2024”
The latest insights come from Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey, conducted between April 1 and 22. This marks the 11th time this measure has been included in the survey since its inception in 2002.
Between 2002 and 2006, an average of 61% of Americans identified as middle or upper-middle class. However, this figure dropped to 56% in 2008, coinciding with the onset of the Great Recession, and has since averaged 53%. At the same time, the proportion of U.S. adults identifying as working or lower class has risen from an average of 37% before the recession to 45% in the years following.
Despite Americans’ increasingly negative perceptions of the U.S. economy, social class identification has remained relatively stable since 2019.
