Social scientists use 3 common methods to define class—by occupation, income, or education—and there is really no consensus about the “right” way to do it. Michael Zweig, a leading scholar in ...

Learn more about the upper class, what defines it, its impact, income levels, and its distinction from the middle and working ...

My long-awaited book, The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the World's Largest Middle Class and What It Means to You, is finally released. Many people asked me how I define the Chinese middle class. Below ...

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Sherry Linkon, co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University, about the difficulty of defining what "middle class" is today. We asked ...

No one seems to be able to agree on the definition of "the middle class." 70 percent of Americans consider themselves middle-class but only 50 percent are, according to data from Northwestern Mutual ...

A growing number of middle-class families are struggling to afford the basics of housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare. These cost increases mean that even families classified as ...