Again, middle class can cover those from traditional middle class backgrounds who went to Uni and now do jobs which require a degree and professional qualifications, but within the public sector might pay £35-£40k for an experienced worker. Such people in their 40s are likely to win a home, value education and depending on where they live, have 1 or 2 adults working and an income of from £35k- £80k depending on whether 2 adults work and if full time. There are far more of people in this group than those with family incomes of £150k+, or those privately educating their kids and with 2homes. However, these too are likely to be middle class.
Middle class includes a broad range.
It isn’t just income is it. Most of the middle class are pretty well educated and value education. Their levels of cultural capital vary from heaps to little.
I can think of people who are middle class who had solidly middle class upbringings, have degrees and married similar people. Sometimes one of them never really got a professional job or only did I it for a year or two. The other worked in the public sector and started on well under £30k. They bought a small property in a provincial town and now have 2 kids. They value education and extra curriculars and the environment, but their income is still well under £50k as they have 1 full time worker and another doing 1 day a week. Their extra curricular is limited to swimming lessons and Brownies because the rest is too expensive and they have a week of camping per year. Definitely middle class, though and no-one seeing them would doubt it.
Equally and also middle class is the couple who had similar upbringings and went to the same Uni and both did degrees and chose to go into finance and 2 adults worked and started on high salaries, which now give them a family income of between £150k and £350k depending on how much both adults work. They now have a decent 4 bed house in LOndon or an expensive south eastern area, plus perhaps a holiday flat in a seaside town. The kids are either at top Comps with tiny catchment areas, state grammars or Independnet Schools and have private music lessons, sports coaching and do activities which require lots of expensive kit and ferrying around. They ski yearly, spend time at the holiday flat and take another 2 holidays a year. They eat out regularly and without having to think about it and both parents are engaged in hobbies which have expensive equipment and require expensive training to become competent in it.
If you saw these 2 couples, they would sound similar. Their clothes might have some similarities although the 2nd couple have far more clothes and the latest things, whilst the first couple might keep their clothes far longer. Haircuts might be very different for the women. They talk about things they read and listen to and what the kids are up to and they both expect their kids to go to Uni, although perhaps to different types of job. Loads of things are similar and they can. Confidently chat to each other at a social occasion. Loads of similaries and all middle class…..but also big range of income and life experiences now for both them and their kids which are money related.