Why do Democrats think $250,000 is middle class?

Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have tax plans that extend the "middle class" classification up to those earning $250,000 a year — a number that some experts say is arbitrary and false.

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics reported by CNN Money, those with incomes of $250,000 a year are among the nation's top earners, with households making $206,600 considered within the top 5 percent in 2014. A truly "middle class" American family makes more like $53,700 a year; Pew Research Center defines the middle class as those making two-thirds to two times the median income for one's household size, meaning a truly middle-class family of three would earn between $42,000 and $126,000 a year.

Sanders and Clinton aren't the first to have such a generous definition of the "middle," however. Former President Bill Clinton also campaigned with the number $250,000 in 1992, according to the chief economist of Tax Analysts Martin Sullivan; Clinton's top tax bracket applied to those making over $250,000. Obama also used this earning as a threshold to define "wealthy" and "middle class."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Sullivan blamed the disconnect between politicians and "true" middle class income on the fact that decision makers in Washington are surrounded by people with above-average salaries. "$250,000 has become enshrined, but it's not based on an economic study. It's a number people have become comfortable with," he said.