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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is this a (financially) middle class household these days or not?

291 replies

Yealp · 12/01/2026 21:18

I don’t think so, my best friend thinks it’s completely middle class.

Income after tax per month 5,200
Household one adult and one dc
Mortgage payment 1k a month, equity 350k (4 bed detached)

OP posts:
Octavia64 · 12/01/2026 21:19

Yes.

the clue is in the mortgage

Purpleturtle45 · 12/01/2026 21:19

What do you think if is?

SapphOhNo · 12/01/2026 21:19

Yes. The mortgage gives it away.

idontcareabouttennis · 12/01/2026 21:20

Class is very little to do with income (Wayne Rooney is never going to be anything other than working class, for example, even though he is loaded) - but I’d say that’s a fairly ‘middle’ income

peacefulpeach · 12/01/2026 21:21

Why does the mortgage give it away?

BobblyBobbleHat · 12/01/2026 21:21

Yes mortgage and income.

SquigglePigs · 12/01/2026 21:21

Single parent comfortably paying a mortgage on a 4-bed house with more than £4k a month left after? Can't think what else it would be other than middle class!!

Nevermind17 · 12/01/2026 21:22

It depends how she earns her money. An almost £100,000 salary in a professional job = middle class. On Only Fans, not so much.

Yealp · 12/01/2026 21:23

Octavia64 · 12/01/2026 21:19

Yes.

the clue is in the mortgage

@Octavia64 i think that’s a huge mortgage payment for one adult personally!!

OP posts:
LemonsMakelimes · 12/01/2026 21:24

Yes. Not about household income per se - single earner taking home £5200 a month is a high wage earner. £350k is a lot of equity. A 4 bed detached house is a big house.

You’re not going to feel super rich because you’re a single parent but yes it’s definitely middle class in terms of income and assets. Whether you feel you identify as middle class is another matter - as a pp said, class is about more than just income.

Yealp · 12/01/2026 21:24

peacefulpeach · 12/01/2026 21:21

Why does the mortgage give it away?

@peacefulpeach yes I don’t get this, I thought it was a huge mortgage payment

OP posts:
Nevermind17 · 12/01/2026 21:24

Yealp · 12/01/2026 21:23

@Octavia64 i think that’s a huge mortgage payment for one adult personally!!

My son pays £1k a month on his mortgage and he’s on his own, on £30k a year!

UnhappyHobbit · 12/01/2026 21:24

idontcareabouttennis · 12/01/2026 21:20

Class is very little to do with income (Wayne Rooney is never going to be anything other than working class, for example, even though he is loaded) - but I’d say that’s a fairly ‘middle’ income

Edited

Absolutely this. I will always be working class in my eyes and so will a lot of people from blue collar families who claim to be “middle class”.

moofolk · 12/01/2026 21:24

That’s an incredibly good financial situation to be in.

Yealp · 12/01/2026 21:25

Purpleturtle45 · 12/01/2026 21:19

What do you think if is?

@Purpleturtle45 i guess mortgage paid off? Bit more disposable income as I guess after bills the actual disposable is more like 3k

OP posts:
LemonsMakelimes · 12/01/2026 21:25

Why is £1k a huge mortgage payment for one adult? Mine and DHs mortgage is £2100 together so over £1k each and neither of us make as much as you do (we both take home around £3.5k)

namechangetheworld · 12/01/2026 21:26

Yealp · 12/01/2026 21:23

@Octavia64 i think that’s a huge mortgage payment for one adult personally!!

We earn far less as a couple (just under £3000 per month) and pay a £1,150 mortgage. It would be perfectly doable on that salary!

Purlant · 12/01/2026 21:26

Do you mean middle class or middle income? Class has little bearing on income!

Equalizer · 12/01/2026 21:29

Doesn't it depend on how much is outstanding on the mortgage, current pension provision and higher education payments....depends on the age of the child too.

blackpooolrock · 12/01/2026 21:29

I don't think class has anything to do with income. It's new money i guess?

mummyofhyperDD · 12/01/2026 21:30

Your friend has done well to keep up a high earning role as a single parent, it’s a very good salary . I don’t think £1,000 a month mortgage is a huge payment at all - I have found that affordable on a much lower salary with no child maintenance.
Class is not based on income in the UK but it’s a healthy salary

InveterateWineDrinker · 12/01/2026 21:30

For fuck's sake. £5200 per month after tax is about £95k gross - top five percent in the UK.

Do you really have to ask?

ImmortalJillyCooper · 12/01/2026 21:31

Odd question, but the figures imply a decent professional income which is typically considered middle class. That mortgage is really quite small for a 4 bed house. I still don’t understand what you think OP.

Zobra · 12/01/2026 21:31

fuck me 😂 upper class

enough of the tendency on this site to claim being that well off is “middle” anything

SquirrelRed · 12/01/2026 21:33

Yealp · 12/01/2026 21:25

@Purpleturtle45 i guess mortgage paid off? Bit more disposable income as I guess after bills the actual disposable is more like 3k

3k a month disposable income is loads. Genuinely. Thats more than we earn before any bills come out