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Texas job growth accelerating despite interest rates
The Texas economy is continuing to add a lot of jobs despite higher interest rates. Good Day talked to Pia Orrenius, the vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, about the latest data. Our state added 33,500 jobs in July and the forecast for the year calls for a 3% increase.
DALLAS - A new study by Consumer Affairs has figured out the minimum annual income required for a family of four to be considered middle class in each state.
The middle class is capturing a lower share of income than in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, according to Oliver Rust, head of product at independent inflation data aggregator Truflation. Rust said during an interview with Consumer Affairs that in the two decades since the mid-2000s, the portion of the country that is middle class has shrunk from roughly 60%. Instead, there has been a steep increase at the extreme bottom and top of the economic spectrum.
Inflation has surged in the past few years, peaking at 9% in June 2022. That means some families who were middle class in 2020 may no longer be in that category. The Pew Research Center says the share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021.
So what is the minimum annual income required in 2023 for a family of four to be middle class in Texas? Consumer Affairs found that number by using a calculator provided by the Pew Research Center and an inflation calculator provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The answer is $66,597. That's slightly lower than the minimum annual income required to be considered middle class in Florida, which is $67,835, but lower than the minimum in California, which is $69,064. In Oklahoma, it's $61,664. In Arkansas, it’s $51,798. In Louisiana, it's $61,664 and in New Mexico, it's $64,130.
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Hawaii tops the list, with an annual income of $82,630 required to be considered middle class. Other states topping the list include the District of Columbia and New York (tied for No. 2), New Jersey and Connecticut (tied for No. 3), and Massachusetts (No. 4). The bottom five include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, West Virginia and Mississippi.
A different study earlier this year by SmartAsset analyzed the high and low ends of the range of middle-class salaries in 100 large cities and all 50 states. The research found in Plano, Texas, the median household income is $95,002 with the middle-class income ranging from $63,651 to $190,004.
To be considered middle class in Austin, you'd have to make between $53,293 and $159,084, in Dallas between $38,857 and $115,990 and in Houston you would need to make between $37,184 and $110,998.
The nation’s median household income was $70,784 in 2021, according to census data.