![]() ![]() In contrast, the share of college graduates who place themselves in the lower class grew from 12% to 17%. At the same time, the proportion with no more than a high school diploma who say they are in the lower class rose by 9 points to 41%. Among those adults who attended college but did not graduate, the share who place themselves in the lower class increased by 12 percentage points to 36% in the past four years. The survey also found that a good education offered some protection from falling into the lower class. 33%), a change from four years ago when a significantly larger share of blacks identified with the lower classes (23% vs. In contrast, there has been no increase in the proportion of blacks who identify as lower class (33% in both surveys).Īs a result, whites today are no more likely than blacks to say they are in the lower class (31% vs. 30%) today than in 2008 also say they are in the lower class. Today, about twice the share of young people than adults ages 65 and older say they stand on the bottom rungs of the social ladder (39% vs. Four years ago, young people were no more likely than other age group to identify as either lower or lower-middle class. But it is particularly striking among young adults, who by their own self-definitions have moved into the lower classes at nearly twice the rate for the population as a whole.įully 39% of adults ages 18 to 29 now say they are in the lower class, a 14 percentage point increase since 2008. This increase can be seen to one degree or another in most-but not all-demographic groups analyzed for this report. The Demographics of Class ChangeĪbout a third of all adults (32%) now say they are in the lower class, up from 25% in a Pew Research Center survey conducted in early 2008. Those who identified themselves as upper or upper-middle class are combined to form the “upper class” group. So for this report “lower class” constitutes those who placed themselves in the lower or lower-middle class. To measure social class, the Pew Research surveys in 20 2 asked respondents this question: “If you were asked to use one of these commonly used names for the social classes, which would you say you belong in: the upper class, upper-middle class, middle class, lower-middle class or lower class?” Few respondents in either survey placed themselves in the “lower class” or “upper class” categories. While the expectation that each new generation will surpass their parents is a central tenet of the American Dream, those lower classes are significantly more likely than middle or upper-class adults to believe their children will have a worse standard of living than they do. Only half (51%) say that hard work brings success, a view expressed by overwhelming majorities of those in the middle (67%) and upper classes (71%). About three-quarters (77%) say it’s harder now to get ahead than it was 10 years ago. Those in the lower classes also say they are less happy and less healthy, and the stress they report experiencing is more than other adults.Īs they look to their own future and that of their children, many in the lower class see their prospects dimming. Eight-in-ten adults (84%) in the lower classes say they had to cut back spending in the past year because money was tight, compared with 62% who say they are middle class and 41% who say they are in the upper classes. The survey finds that hard times have been particularly hard on the lower class. Among Democrats, 33% now call themselves lower class, compared with 29% in 2008. Some 23% now call themselves lower class, up from 13% in 2008. When it comes to political affiliation, more Democrats than Republicans place themselves in the lower classes, but Republicans saw a sharper rise over the past four years. As a consequence, a virtually identical share of blacks (33%) and whites (31%) now say they are in the lower class. The share of blacks in the lower class has not changed in four years, one of the few demographic groups in which the proportion in the lower classes did not grow. 1 The shares of Hispanics and whites who place themselves in the lower class also are growing.Īmong blacks, the story is different. People younger than 30 are disproportionately swelling the ranks of the self-defined lower classes. Not only has the lower class grown, but its demographic profile also has shifted. The percentage of Americans who say they are in the lower-middle or lower class has risen from a quarter of the adult population to about a third in the past four years, according to a national survey of 2,508 adults by the Pew Research Center. ![]()
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