Many people aspire to join the upper middle class and make enough money to cover their expenses while keeping up with regular monthly investments. The bar has steadily gotten higher due to inflation, and it’s a testament to how fiat currencies lose purchasing power over time.
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For instance, data from Pew Research suggests that you had to earn more than $169,800 per year in 2022 to be a part of the upper middle class. That’s $194,149.55 in today’s dollars using the CPI Inflation Calculator provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
We can use this same calculator to determine how much people had to earn each year to be a part of the upper middle class in 2015.
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What Salary Qualified as Upper Middle Class in 2015?
The CPI Inflation Calculator indicates that a $142,622.89 salary was enough to be considered a member of the upper middle class in 2015. That comes to $11,968.57 per month.
Expenses are always lower if you look back a few years due to regular money printing. That’s why a salary that was good enough a decade ago may no longer be sufficient. However, it’s important to note that the pandemic resulted in record money printing, which led to significantly higher inflation for a short period of time.
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Big Jumps in the Cost of Living
Inflation wasn’t too bad before the pandemic, as it mostly hovered between 2% and 3% each year. However, 2021 to 2023 made living costs significantly higher. Here’s the breakdown of how much buying power $169,800 in 2022 had in the following years:
2015: $142,622.89
2016: $145,086.87 (reasonable inflation growth rate)
2017: $147,807.07
2018: $151,947.17
2019: $154,667.37
2020: $154,849.76 (notably low inflation due to lockdowns reducing how much we spent, but this is an anomaly)
2021: $162,580.96
2022: $169,800 (the original figure used in this calculation)
2023: $183,678.22 (substantial increase)
2024: $189,682.72 (still a big increase that starts to moderate)
2025: $194,149.55 (further moderation in the growth rate)
How To Navigate the Rising Cost of Living
Higher living costs have been the norm for decades. The best way to deal with inflation is by investing in assets that grow at a faster rate than inflation. Other strategies involve working harder and smarter, which require short-term and maybe even long-term sacrifices, depending on your financial situation.
Some people may have to work longer hours or consider weekend shifts. Developing career skills that can help you get a higher-paying job can help you earn more money while working less. A side hustle may also be necessary. You can eventually turn some side hustles into full-time career opportunities if you stick with them.
It may also be worth job hopping. You can get a higher salary with a different company, and if you like your current company, you can use a new job offer as leverage to get a higher salary.
Cutting costs is another great strategy, but there are limits to how much you can cut. Focusing on income growth is the best way to combat rising inflation.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: This Was the Salary Required To Be Upper Middle Class in 2015
