By Nick Wallace | Smart Asset
The middle class is shrinking. According to a 2015 analysis by Pew Research, for the first time in recent history less than half of American households are part of the middle class, with greater numbers of households moving into the upper and lower classes.
Likewise, while middle-income Americans used to earn more than 60% of total U.S. income, today their combined paychecks add up to just 43% of the whole pie.
In some parts of the country, however, the middle class has not been shrinking so rapidly, if at all. Indeed, in 18 states, the number of middle-class jobs has increased by more than 10% since the year 2000. On the other hand, in 14 states, the total number of such jobs has actually declined over the past 15 years.
