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

[Yealp]

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)

I’m so confused. This is a salary of 90k ish a year. It’s not loads but it’s comfortably above average so pretty middle class I’d say?

The mortgage at 1k is pretty low from where I’m coming from (as a single person my first mortgage about 15 years ago was much higher than this) so the person is fortunate in that respect.

I’m so confused. This is a salary of 90k ish a year. It’s not loads but it’s comfortably above average so pretty middle class I’d say?

I'm not confused at all. This is one of two things: either

1. (yet) another poster with severe levels of financial dysmorphia (objectively very well off, but thinking they're on the poverty line, often heard whining about how they don't qualify for means-tested benefits,); or

2. a deliberate attempt to divide, by making objectively well-off and comfortable middle-income people feel thoroughly inadequate. Often seen in threads about benefits claimants bringing in £75k and living it large on taxpayers' expense.

Since this particular OP has never posted on another thread besides this one, ever, I'm going with Russian bot farm and 2).

There's no such thing as "financially middle class."

Income after tax £5,200 for one adult and one DC not middle class? You what???

The old fashioned "class" structure no longer exists in todays society. What used to differientiate people was often very clear but this is no longer the case.

Please stop trying to group people into classes.

Stop showing off. People are genuinely struggling

Class isn’t just based on income. God forbid. You would have any old riff raff thinking they were upper class. Eg the beckhams.

Yes ours is £1400 on a piddly 2 bed cottage!

The fact you care shows middle class snob so yes! 🤣🤣

No it’s not. It’s nothing to do with your parents once grown up. The official definitions are easily googleable.

working class unskilled or semi skilled earning a wage, often paid by the hour.
middle class, professional workers where further eduction is required, paid a salary.

these are broad brush strokes. With some cracks or over laps, but that’s about rhe size of it.

Guidelines suggest that total housing costs, mortgage, insurance, property tax, should not exceed 28% of your gross total income. 🤔 Your son is spending 33% on his mortgage alone. That doesn't leave much disposable income after other household expenses 🤨

“Should not” is all very well & good but my rent, which is relatively cheap, a private rented ex council house, is £1150.

I would love to earn over three times that per month, but I don’t. Most people don’t. £1k on a mortgage with OP’s income is a luxury.

I don't think wage defines social class in the UK, or more specifically in England. Traditional social class is a complicated mixture of things, including background, education, and outlook. As a concept, it's outdated, divisive and serves no good purpose. It's a shame it hasn't died out.

This. You can be wealthy and working class and poor and middle class. Class is to do with education and profession, not material wealth. In times past there would have been correlation between the two, but not any longer. For instance a PT university lecture is ‘middle class’, but they could be so poorly paid that they are a tenant in shared digs or someone’s lodger. Still middle class, but pretty penniless. But a plumber, plasterer or other trade can turn in £100k a year if self employed in some areas of the UK, but still working class.

TBH, I’d like to see the concept of ‘class’ tossed on a funeral pyre and for us all to get back to valuing people for what they contribute to society and the economy - whether that be via vocational professions (nursing, teaching etc), volunteering, building businesses or by hard graft of a trade or craft. We used to be a society that admired hard work and dedication and didn’t begrudge anyone who earned a penny in doing so.

It is really unfortunate that nowadays £1k actually isn't that big a mortgage.

I’d say that’s higher than middle class.

Guidelines that were set for past generations don't really help people who live in London and the SE where rent is more than the 28%. My son pays £1k a month for a room in a 3 bed shared house in East London. It is more than half his current income but it is what it is.

I can't work out what they would be other than middle class? 90k a year is a high income, far higher than average and way above the income of lots of middle class professional jobs (teachers, doctors under Consultant level etc).

Surely you can't be asking if earning double the average salary for the country is a struggling wage?

Isn't it funny, I would love people to think I was middle class (well not love but be slightly pleased) whilst my husband is proud working class. Income and interests wise we are middle class , I think the issue with me is that my mum and dad were working class and I (wrongly) associate that with not being interested in anything other than the pub ie going every single say and of walking round with ones top off when it gets warm and reading a rubbish newspaper but not reading books (top off , that was my dad though my mother would sunbathe topless in the garden).

If it was based on what your parents did growing up what if one worked a professional job and the other minimum wage? How do you describe a family where one parent is a professional and the other works a minimum wage job? What if it’s a family who argue regularly and split up and reconciled multiple times?

I dont think its that simple. Our monthly income is around £5500 , our home is around £460,000-470,000 we only have about £20k left on our mortgage So own about 96%

I am an ex teacher but currently doing another degree and working in a support worker *kind of role Hubby is military retired and working part time.

We are both from working class families, however our job roles and financial situation would put us firmly aa middle class (which I've always found odd) . I know class systems have evolved to be more about what you've achieved rather than where you've come from.
But I grew up working class so thats how I see myself.

I don't think it's your salary that makes you middle class

Indeed!

I was told that my class was dependent on my Father having secured Post Grad degrees, as have my Husband and I.

We have a healthy income and mortgage, pensions etc… but work in the Public Sector do earn less than our Tiler and carpet fitter who earn over £100k per year each without having secured A levels. Technically we are possibly upper middle class by virtue or our jobs and income… but it doesn’t change anything at all about how we live our lives!

I personally feel that class has very little relevance today, surely having a job you enjoy, living somewhere with people you see as neighbours and friends and being open to expanding your knowledge and enjoyment of new experiences are more important!

The old fashioned approach of assessing class is somewhat exclusionary, and doesn’t take into account social mobility!

Then there are other tells… do you privately educate your children? Have horses? Have staff to help with domestic chores such as a Nanny, Cleaner, etc….

Do you go to the pub or a theatre?
Do you read books or listen to podcasts?

The actual definition is:

The UK middle class is defined by
a blend of income (often £40k-£70k, but varying greatly), occupation (managers, professionals), lifestyle (homeownership, cultural activities), education, and perceived social status, rather than just salary. It represents a broad spectrum between the working and upper classes, with subjective factors like personal background and regional costs significantly influencing individual perceptions of being middle class, even for those on seemingly high incomes
.

Anyway…. Class or the perception of Class is irrelevant and doesn’t give an indication of what really matters, which is kindness, compassion and integrity!

Do you think working class people have 3k a month disposable income? Really?

I’m late to 20s and pay that, on less income. My mother is horrified. I think £1k mortgage is v normal for younger people, not so much for our parents’ generation