Middle class, Upper middle, Affluent and Rich in the USA

There is a survey of wealth and affluence in the USA.

IA = Investable Assets: includes education/custodial accounts, individually-owned retirement accounts, stocks, options, bonds, mutual funds, managed accounts, hedge funds, structured products, ETFs, cash accounts, annuities, and cash value life insurance policies

The estimates how many people in the USA have over $100K to invest are pretty close It is about 36 million to 41 million people.

Total Affluent Market: $100k+ Investable
Near Affluent ($100k-$249k)                    13-15 million
Lower Mass Affluent ($250k-$499k) Investable    8-10 million
Upper Mass Affluent: $500k-$999k Investable     6-7 million


$1 million+ Investable      6.3 to 10.5 million people (millionaires not including main house)
$1-$5 million Investable    4.5 million to 9.2 million
$5-25 million Investable    1.2 million
$25 million plus Investable  145000

30% of all US households have $100K to invest.

Based on income definitions, the upper middle class grew to 29.4% of the population in 2014, up from 12.9% in 1979, according to a new Urban Institute report. It defines this group as having household income of between $100,000 and $350,000 for a three-person family.

The middle class, meanwhile, shrunk — to 32%, from 38.8%. And the share of lower middle class and poor Americans also declined.

The following chart with 2013 data includes the worth of a primary house but takes away the mortgage.

The bottom 10% are in debt. The next 10-30% have almost no savings [they likely own a car and have house but little accumulated after the debt].

SOURCES – CNN, Urban Institute, Phoenix, Spectrum Group, CapGemini, Merryl Lynch