Just looked into what counts as upper-middle class income across the Midwest, and the numbers are pretty interesting. Turns out the threshold varies way more than I expected depending on which state you're in. The region averages around $116k to break into that bracket, but that's just the baseline. Minnesota's sitting at the high end with $136k needed, while Missouri's closer to $107k. The range is pretty wild when you think about it. Michigan's right in the middle of things at around $110,676 to hit upper-middle class status. Median household income there is about $71k, so you're looking at needing something like 1.5x the state median to make that jump. Illinois is higher at $127k threshold with a median household income of $81k. Comparing these numbers across the Midwest, it's clear that middle class income in Michigan and neighboring states follows that Pew Research formula - basically 2/3 to double your state's median. So if you're making $47k to $142k in Michigan, you're solidly in the middle class range. Pretty useful to see where you actually stand versus just guessing based on national averages. The data's from early 2025, so it's relatively fresh for this kind of analysis. Curious how these numbers shift year to year as wages change.