Just looked into what is lower-middle class income by state and the numbers are wild. Turns out it varies massively depending on where you live. Maryland tops the list at needing around $67,768 just to hit that lower-middle class threshold, while Mississippi only requires $36,610. That's almost double the income requirement.

The researchers used the Pew definition - basically middle class is two-thirds to double your state's household median income. Then they split that range into thirds to get lower-middle, middle, and upper tiers. Makes sense when you think about cost of living differences.

Top states for highest lower-middle class income are all the usual suspects: Maryland ($67,768), Massachusetts ($67,561), New Jersey ($67,367), Hawaii ($65,545), and California ($64,223). These places have household medians over $96k-$101k. A single family home in Hawaii averages nearly $1M, so that income requirement tracks.

On the flip side, the lowest thresholds are in Alabama ($41,351), Louisiana ($40,015), Arkansas ($39,182), West Virginia ($38,611), and Mississippi ($36,610). Much lower household medians overall - Mississippi's median is only around $54,915.

What's interesting is this isn't just about wealthy coastal states. New Hampshire, Washington, and Colorado also rank high because their median household incomes are solid ($95k+). Meanwhile, some traditionally expensive areas like New York rank lower than you'd expect - comes down to median income distribution in the state.

If you're trying to figure out where you fall on the income ladder, this lower-middle class breakdown by state gives you a pretty clear picture. The gap between highest and lowest requirement is about $31k annually - that's huge when you're talking about what middle class actually means in different parts of the country.