30 Cities Where a $75K Salary Can Still Lead to Upper-Middle-Class Status
An annual salary of $75,000 doesn’t go as far as it used to, but it’s still enough to land you in the upper-middle class in many U.S. cities. — including a few big ones.
Using data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, combined with a definition of “middle-class” from Pew Research, MoneyLion has produced a list of 30 such cities. To qualify, a city had to have a population of at least 25,000. Pew defines middle-class income as two-thirds to double the average income of a given area.
MoneyLion took those figures and broke them down into lower-middle class, middle-middle class and upper-middle class. To make the list, a city had to have the lowest end of upper middle-class income come in below $75,000. Cities that made the cut include Detroit (population: 639,000), Cleveland (366,000) and Rochester, New York (209,000). Huntsville, Texas, is the least populous city in the list with just under 48,000 residents.
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Key Findings
The list is geographically diverse, with entries from the Midwest, Northeast, South and Central U.S. Ohio has the most entries with six, followed by Indiana with four.
Among the cities on the list, Pontiac, Michigan, has the lowest minimum salary required for upper-middle class status — about $53,500. Other cities with relatively low thresholds include Erie, Pennsylvania ($58,500); Canton, Ohio ($60,000); and Detroit ($62,000).
Cities with the highest minimum salary required include Valdosta, Georgia, and Akron, Ohio (both just below $75,000).
Youngstown, Ohio, has the lowest median income among the 30 cities — $34,408 a year. Pennsylvania’s capital, Harrisburg, has the highest at around $48,000.
Here are the 30 cities, ranked in order of population.
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1. Detroit
Lowest salary for middle class: $26,625
Salary range for upper-middle class: $62,128 to $79,876
Median household income: $39,938
2. Cleveland
Lowest salary for middle class: $27,201
Salary range for upper-middle class: $63,470 to $81,602
Median household income: $40,801
3. Rochester, New York
Lowest salary for middle class: $31,475
Salary range for upper-middle class: $73,444 to $94,426
Median household income: $47,213
4. Birmingham, Alabama
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,701
Salary range for upper-middle class: $71,637 to $92,102
Median household income: $46,051
5. Akron, Ohio
Lowest salary for middle class: $32,051
Salary range for upper-middle class: $74,787 to $96,152
Median household income: $48,076
6. Jackson, Mississippi
Lowest salary for middle class: $28,047
Salary range for upper-middle class: $65,446 to $84,142
Median household income: $42,071
7. Syracuse, New York
Lowest salary for middle class: $31,879
Salary range for upper-middle class: $74,387 to $95,638
Median household income: $47,819
8. Gainesville, Florida
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,797
Salary range for upper-middle class: $71,861 to $92,390
Median household income: $46,195
9. Dayton, Ohio
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,165
Salary range for upper-middle class: $70,386 to $90,494
Median household income: $45,247
10. Hartford, Connecticut
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,941
Salary range for upper-middle class: $72,197 to $92,822
Median household income: $46,411
11. Reading, Pennsylvania
Lowest salary for middle class: $29,394
Salary range for upper-middle class: $68,588 to $88,182
Median household income: $44,091
12. Erie, Pennsylvania
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,742
Salary range for upper-middle class: $71,733 to $92,226
Median household income: $46,113
13. Flint, Michigan
Lowest salary for middle class: $25,097
Salary range for upper-middle class: $58,562 to $75,292
Median household income: $37,646
14. Camden, New Jersey
Lowest salary for middle class: $27,031
Salary range for upper-middle class: $63,074 to $81,092
Median household income: $40,546
15. Canton, Ohio
Lowest salary for middle class: $28,792
Salary range for upper-middle class: $67,183 to $86,376
Median household income: $43,188
16. Gary, Indiana
Lowest salary for middle class: $25,821
Salary range for upper-middle class: $60,250 to $77,462
Median household income: $38,731
17. Albany, New York
Lowest salary for middle class: $31,493
Salary range for upper-middle class: $73,486 to $94,480
Median household income: $47,240
18. Muncie, Indiana
Lowest salary for middle class: $29,647
Salary range for upper-middle class: $69,179 to $88,942
Median household income: $44,471
19. Pontiac, Michigan
Lowest salary for middle class: $29,553
Salary range for upper-middle class: $68,958 to $88,658
Median household income: $44,329
20. Youngstown, Ohio
Lowest salary for middle class: $22,939
Salary range for upper-middle class: $53,526 to $68,816
Median household income: $34,408
21. Terre Haute, Indiana
Lowest salary for middle class: $28,751
Salary range for upper-middle class: $67,087 to $86,252
Median household income: $43,126
22. Springfield, Ohio
Lowest salary for middle class: $31,429
Salary range for upper-middle class: $73,336 to $94,286
Median household income: $47,143
23. Port Arthur, Texas
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,903
Salary range for upper-middle class: $72,108 to $92,708
Median household income: $46,354
24. Anderson, Indiana
Lowest salary for middle class: $31,273
Salary range for upper-middle class: $72,972 to $93,818
Median household income: $46,909
25. Valdosta, Georgia
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,617
Salary range for upper-middle class: $71,441 to $91,850
Median household income: $45,925
26. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Lowest salary for middle class: $32,066
Salary range for upper-middle class: $74,823 to $96,198
Median household income: $48,099
27. Stillwater, Oklahoma
Lowest salary for middle class: $29,133
Salary range for upper-middle class: $67,980 to $87,400
Median household income: $43,700
28. Fort Pierce, Florida
Lowest salary for middle class: $31,381
Salary range for upper-middle class: $73,225 to $94,144
Median household income: $47,072
29. Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Lowest salary for middle class: $30,895
Salary range for upper-middle class: $72,090 to $92,684
Median household income: $46,342
30. Huntsville, Texas
Lowest salary for middle class: $31,686
Salary range for upper-middle class: $73,936 to $95,058
Median household income: $47,529
Methodology: For this piece, MoneyLion looked at all U.S. cities with populations above 25,000 and isolated the median household income for each city as sourced from the U.S. Census 2024 American Community Survey. MoneyLion then determined the total middle-class income range for each city, following the Pew Research definition of middle-class income of two-thirds to double the income of a given area. MoneyLion then broke down the total middle-class income range into lower-middle-class, middle-middle-class and upper-middle-class income ranges. The 30 biggest (in terms of population) cities where the lowest end of upper middle-class income was below $75,000 were included. All data were collected and are up to date as of April 8, 2026.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice.
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