My family was sitting down eating dinner the other night and my son asked me if we were middle class. Off the top of my head I responded yes, but it got me thinking. So I did some research and here's what I found on how much you have to make a year to be considered middle class in Louisiana.

Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash
Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash
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I started thinking privately, well, we do live paycheck to paycheck, so are we really middle class?  Part of the problem is that we don't spend our money in the most productive ways and the other is that we are terrible at saving money. It seems we're not the only family in America with money woes, and if the national and statewide trend continues it will only get worse in the years to come.

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My wife and I both have jobs that we love and have had a passion for since we were kids. I've known I wanted to be a radio DJ since I was eight years old listening to Dave "The Beastman Savage" on Bayou 104. My wife has known she wanted to work in the special education field since she was a little girl pretending to be a teacher with her dolls. So, I don't see us changing our professions, because it's means way more to us than the money.

According to a Pew Research Center report, there has been a significant shift in the middle class in the US during the past 50 years. According to the general statistics, the percentage of households in the middle class fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021.

Photo by Rajiv Perera on Unsplash
Photo by Rajiv Perera on Unsplash
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A significant reason for this is that historically the wages in the US has not mirrored the rising trends of inflation. If everything costs more, but wages are years behind in what's truly a "livable wage" then people have less money to do other things other than pay bills.

Pew Research Center
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Pew Research Center
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Pew Research Center
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The Pew Research Center has an income calculator that shows if Louisiana residents are consider upper, middle, or lower class.

Let's say for example that you and your spouse make $60,000 combined a year and you have one child. According to the Pew Research income calculator you would be considered middle class in Louisiana. It also says that 48% of adults in the Bayou State fall into this category as well.

Pre Research Center
Pew Research Center
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