Middle-income households earned between $56,600 and $169,800 last year, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s quite a range. Any income that that’s two-thirds to double the regional median is considered “middle income.”
As such, the trappings of “middle class” vary household to household, location to location — specifically in Chicagoland. In new research, GOBankingRates determined the areas with the highest-earning middle class, and Winnetka and Hinsdale both cracked the top 10.
The personal finance site analyzed the median incomes across all U.S. cities with populations of 10,000 or more, then ranked the wealthiest ones based on Pew’s definition of middle-income.
Hillsborough, California, came in at No. 1 with $359,967 being the minimum income to be considered middle class.
Just a bit further down the list, at No. 3., is Winnetka, where $305,992 is the minimum income to be considered middle class. The maximum, meanwhile, nears $1 million: $917,976.
Trailing Winnetka, at No. 8., is Hinsdale. There, $253,653 is the minimum income to be considered middle class; the maximum is $760,958.
The full list of the wealthiest middle-class areas includes:
1. Hillsborough, California
2. Short Hills, New Jersey
3. Winnetka, Illinois
4. Piedmont, California
5. Alamo, California
6. Paradise Valley, Arizona
7. University Park, Texas
8. Hinsdale, Illinois
9. Great Falls, Virginia
10. Wellesley, Massachusetts