You must've have heard the idea that most Americans think of themselves as middle class. That's not true. The General Social Survey has regularly asked Americans to choose from lower class, working class, middle class, or upper class since 1972. According to the latest numbers, those from the 2018 module, 44 percent call themselves middle class, another 44 percent call themselves working class. These are the two big self-identified classes in America and have been since 1972. Back then, for instance, 47 percent of respondents reckoned that they were working class while 44 percent choose middle class. What happened to the 3 percent? They now call themselves lower class — whose share has grown from 6 percent in 1972 to 9 percent in 2018. The share of the upper class has also grown from 2 percent to 4 percent. Apart from these small changes, the frequencies of self-identified class has been virtually constant over the past fifty years.
Class Partisan Realignment in the United States
Class Partisan Realignment in the United…
Class Partisan Realignment in the United States
You must've have heard the idea that most Americans think of themselves as middle class. That's not true. The General Social Survey has regularly asked Americans to choose from lower class, working class, middle class, or upper class since 1972. According to the latest numbers, those from the 2018 module, 44 percent call themselves middle class, another 44 percent call themselves working class. These are the two big self-identified classes in America and have been since 1972. Back then, for instance, 47 percent of respondents reckoned that they were working class while 44 percent choose middle class. What happened to the 3 percent? They now call themselves lower class — whose share has grown from 6 percent in 1972 to 9 percent in 2018. The share of the upper class has also grown from 2 percent to 4 percent. Apart from these small changes, the frequencies of self-identified class has been virtually constant over the past fifty years.