At risk of seeming super-whitebread

[Alcon]

$70,000 median household income is a pretty impressive total, by most estimates.  $100,000 is enough to make an area extremely affluent.

Now, maybe I'm way out of touch with modern American demographics, but it seems to me like $70,000 isn't that much money.  I'm an only child and one of my parents makes more of that.  We have a decent savings kitty, but still, I'd never consider myself anything but 'middle class.'  I know lots of families where both parents work, make >$50k, and the idea of them living in those MHI >$100k areas seems pretty darn laughable.

Why does it seem like MHI is lowballed overall?  Or am I just crazy?

[Alcon]

well...i mean...

A family of two parents who work for $30,000, which seems like a pretty working-class salary, makes $60,000.  A place with a MHI of $60,000 is usually considered pretty well-off.  I wouldn't think of a family making $60,000 between two parents as super well-off.

Although I would probably think of a single making $60,000 as quite well-off, so maybe I'm just being all intuitive and have no idea of what I'm talking about.

Now you've upset me and I want a pony.

[Alcon]

A lot of those places aren't very affluent, they just have lots of married couples, true. Those $30-40k median income places (like where I live) usually just tend to be young and single.

Yeah, but my point is that places that are almost totally two-people families and seem solidly middle class oftentimes have MHIs around $60,000, which seems kinda low.

or am i really crazy?