Social classes go way back to at least the Middle Ages — but classes such as the “lower class” and the “lower middle class” didn’t become a prominent part of our sociological lexicon in the U.S. until ...

Back in 2006, Matt Miller wrote a column for Fortune that seemed very clever to me at the time and now is looking downright prescient. The gist of it: Here’s my outlandish theory: that economic ...

Though terms like these can’t fully encapsulate people’s specific financial realities, they can be useful. The differences between how the lower middle class and upper middle class are living can ...

The power of a six-figure (or more) salary is seemingly fading depending on where you live, bumping some U.S. earners into a "lower middle class" status. "In America’s most expensive cities, the bar ...

In an achievement-oriented society, it's easy to feel "stuck" regardless of your financial standing. However, specific socioeconomic clues can distinguish one's position firmly within the lower class, ...

As the years pass, the U.S. class system — or, more precisely, how we understand it — keeps changing. And there’s a geographic component to it all. What makes you “wealthy” in one state may not cut it ...

“Middle class” is often used as a monolithic term. When politicians invoke it, they’re referring to anyone who isn’t wildly wealthy or who wouldn’t classify as financially disadvantaged. But there’s ...