Just pulled up some income data and wow, the definition of middle class has shifted way more than I realized in the last decade. Like, in 2013 you could be solidly middle class in Washington state with around 40-120k household income, but now you're looking at 63-190k. That's a massive jump. Same story across most states - inflation basically redefined what middle class even means anymore.

I was scrolling through the numbers by state and it's wild how different the changes are. California, Massachusetts, and Maryland saw some of the biggest jumps in their middle-class income ranges. Meanwhile, states like Arkansas and Mississippi had smaller increases but still significant. What's crazy is that the definition of middle class now requires way more income just to stay in the same economic position you were in a decade ago. Washington, California, and Colorado are hitting almost 190k on the upper end just to be considered middle class in 2023.

The whole thing really drives home how cost of living and inflation have basically redefined the middle class across the country. You need almost double the income in some states to have the same purchasing power. It's a reminder that what counts as middle class income now versus ten years ago are completely different benchmarks.