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If the media is to be believed, the middle class is in a war on numerous fronts—and taking lots of casualties.
Sure, while the middle class is sporting deep bruises and reportedly shrinking, we at the Movoto Real Estate Blog set out to find where the middle class is surviving and in a distinct majority. We not only wanted to find out where the middle class lives, but to find the places where it’s thriving and holding its own.
We dug up the data and analyzed it to discover some locations where the middle class is looking forward with eyes wide open.
Methodology: The Search Begins
To put together this article, we turned to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. We grabbed three five-year estimates of household income (2007-2011, 2008-2012, and 2009-2013) for each of the ZIP codes logged in the Census.
After pulling out the ZIPs with blank data and those under a population of 5,000, we took what was left—over 13,000 ZIP codes—and looked at the percentage of the population in each ZIP that had a household income in the $35,000 to $149,999 range. The higher the percentage, the higher the saturation of middle-class households in that ZIP.
In our research, we found plenty of debate about what constitutes the middle class. The New York Times recently did a study using a $35,000 to $100,000 range, while in 2012 presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney referred to middle-class income as that under $250,000. We settled on the $35,000 to $149,999 range as a good middle ground to use as the basis for this discussion.
From there, we gave each ZIP a ranking based on its middle-class saturation, then took all the remaining ZIPs and color-coded them onto the maps you see here. If you want to check out the top 10s for each of the three data sets, you can scroll down to the bottom and look at the table.
The Precincts Have Reported—What We’ve Found
There’s a ton of data generated when you look at something on a ZIP code-level scale across three samples for a seven-year period, which makes it hard to pull out notables for discussion.
However, with our ranking system, we looked at the top 10 in each five-year sample to give us a few common things to talk about.
First, the results:
1. 06269, Storrs Mansfield, CT
2. 76311, Sheppard Air Force Base, TX
3. 23801, Fort Lee, VA
4. 57032, Harrisburg, SD
5. 84005, Eagle Mountain, UT
6. 84087, Woods Cross, UT
7. 37153, Rockvale, TN
8. 99506, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK
9. 84315, Hooper, UT
10. 08640, Fort Dix, NJ
1. 06269, Storrs Mansfield, CT
2. 94964, San Quentin, CA
3. 76311, Sheppard Air Force Base, TX
4. 23801, Fort Lee, VA
5. 84005, Eagle Mountain, UT
6. 57032, Harrisburg, SD
7. 37153, Rockvale, TN
8. 40162, Rineyville, KY
9. 21017, Belcamp, MD
10. 84081, West Jordan, UT
1. 06269, Storrs Mansfield, CT
2. 75207, Dallas, TX
3. 32508, Pensacola, FL
4. 84005, Eagle Mountain, UT
5. 84315, Hooper, UT
6. 23801, Fort Lee, VA
7. 84096, Herriman, UT
8. 62225, Scott Air Force Base, IL
9. 21017, Belcamp, MD
10. 57032, Harrisburg, SD
Almost amazingly, the same ZIP code sits atop all three lists: 06269, which is the Storrs/Mansfield section of Connecticut, east of Hartford. It’s also where the University of Connecticut is located, which could speak to its consistent middle-class standing. It’s weird that 100 percent of the income for the approximately-9,000-population ZIP was reported to be in the $75,000 to $99,999 range, but that’s how the Census lists it.
Storrs/Mansfield shared the No. 1 spot in the 2008-2012 list with 94964 in San Quentin, CA also having 100 percent of its household incomes logged in the Census as in the middle-class range. San Quentin doesn’t appear as a top 10 in the 2007-2011 or 2009-2013 lists.
Some Fiscal Runners-Up
Three other ZIPs landed on all three data lists:
- 84005 in Eagle Mountain, UT
- 23801 in Fort Lee, VA
- 57032 in Harrisburg, SD
Meanwhile, three other ZIPs appeared on two of the three lists:
- 76311 in Sheppard AFB, TX, was No. 3 for 2012 and No. 2 for 2013
- 37153 in Rockvale, TN, was No. 7 for 2012 and 2013
- 21017 in Belcamp, MD, was No. 9 for 2011 and 2012
Class Dismissed
There’s no saying that any of these top middle-class locations will be in the same financial situation the next time we do this analysis, but if you’re looking for a comfy city in which to live—regardless of your class status—these would be good to have on your short list.
