# When $155K Still Feels Like Scraping By

> Six in ten Americans now call themselves working class, including half of the people earning six figures.
- Title: When $155K Still Feels Like Scraping By · Fortune | Shortify
- Summary: Six in ten Americans now call themselves working class, including half of the people earning six figures. "Working class" has stopped describing a pay band…
- Keywords: affordability, wages, housing, american dream, gen z, 155K, Still, Feels, Like, Scraping, Fortune
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/09/14/american-salary-earnings-working-class-pew-study-affordability-crisis
- Author: Muskaan Arshad
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: affordability, wages, housing, american dream, gen z
## Sixty percent say working class
A Pew Research survey from January 2026 found 60% of U.S. adults say "working class" describes them well. Half of college graduates said the same.
## Six figures, same label
Half of upper-income adults, those earning above $155,600 a year, now call themselves working class. That salary would have put them solidly in the upper middle class in the early 2000s.
## Up six points in two years
Pew's 2024 study put the figure at 54%. The jump since then held steady across demographic, income, and political groups, so this is not one slice of the country talking.
## The math stopped working
Inflation keeps eating paychecks while wage growth lags. Groceries got harder to afford, and gas bills climbed after the Iran war pushed fuel to record highs.
## A $4.4 million dream
Investopedia priced the classic package, suburban house, two kids, a car, at $4.4 million. That is more than $1 million past what most Americans will earn in a lifetime.
## Homebuyers are getting older
A new single-family home ran a median $403,200 in early 2026. The typical U.S. buyer is now 59, up from 39 fifteen years ago, and first-time buyers hit a record median of 40.
## Affluence as performance
Gen Z faces record debt and 5.7% graduate unemployment, and only 21% think the dream is reachable. Half of six-figure earners use buy now, pay later on sub-$100 buys; 45% delay medical care.

> They're living the illusion of affluence while privately juggling credit cards, debt, and survival strategies.
## Key takeaway

"Working class" has stopped describing a pay band and started describing a feeling: running hard and still not getting ahead.