Just looked at some data on how much you actually need to earn to be considered lower-middle class, and the gap between states is wild. Maryland tops the list at around 68k minimum, but if you're in Mississippi you're looking at more than half that - just over 36k. That's a crazy difference for basically the same income classification. The whole thing comes down to cost of living and median household income in each state. Places like Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Hawaii have those high thresholds because housing and everything else costs so much more. Meanwhile states like West Virginia and Arkansas have way lower income requirements for the same class bracket. Basically what counts as lower-middle class income really depends on where you live. The research breaks it down by taking two-thirds to double the median household income in each state, which makes sense. Interesting to see how your actual purchasing power and lifestyle can be so different even when you're technically in the same income bracket.