Story perspectives

Six-Figure Earners Still Lower-Middle Class in 12 States

5/1/2026

Summary

MoneyLion Reveals

MoneyLion reported that a $100,000 household income places families in the lower-middle-class tier in twelve states.
The study, using Pew’s definition, sets the lower-middle-class ceiling between $107,398 (Utah) and $116,476 (Massachusetts), with California at $111,277 and Colorado at $107,903.
High housing, childcare and other costs push six-figure earners into paycheck-to-paycheck living despite a 2024 median income of $83,730 and a national middle-class range of $55,820 to $167,460.

Summary

MoneyLion Ranks Colorado

MoneyLion’s study ranks Colorado the eighth most expensive state.
Median household income is $97,113 and annual necessities cost $60,157.
A $100,000 income tops Colorado’s lower-middle-class bracket, which ends at $107,903.
High gasoline prices are causing many Coloradans to cancel summer road trips.
An AI-generated list called “100 Snobbiest Cities in Colorado for 2025” flags elitist towns.

History

Historical Context

The 1973 OPEC oil embargo forced U.S. gasoline prices up about 70%, prompting President Richard Nixon to impose domestic oil price controls. By 1979 President Jimmy Carter began deregulating those controls, boosting domestic output. The episode showed how energy spikes can erode middle-class stability, a pattern echoed in MoneyLion’s 2024 study that Colorado households earning $100 k still fall into the lower-middle-class bracket.

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MoneyLion Reveals

MoneyLion reported that a $100,000 household income places families in the lower-middle-class tier in twelve states.
The study, using Pew’s definition, sets the lower-middle-class ceiling between $107,398 (Utah) and $116,476 (Massachusetts), with California at $111,277 and Colorado at $107,903.
High housing, childcare and other costs push six-figure earners into paycheck-to-paycheck living despite a 2024 median income of $83,730 and a national middle-class range of $55,820 to $167,460.

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