No one wants to hear that they aren't making enough money to be considered "middle class," and those income ceilings are getting more difficult to maintain year after year in the state capital. A new report has revealed exactly how wide Austin's income thresholds are to be considered middle class – and the highest income ceiling is nearly $180,000.

According to the 2024 edition of SmartAsset's annual "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America" report, middle class households in Austin would need to make between $59,604 and $178,830 a year to be labeled "middle class." Additionally, the city's median middle class household income comes out to $89,415 a year.

Obviously a single person making $89,415 (the median income cited for Austin) is going to feel much more middle class than a couple raising two kids on that number, making the "household" metric a little imprecise. This study, though, does not account for how thin those funds are spread.

The report used a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary." To determine income limits, the report analyzed data from the Census Bureau's 2022 one-year American Community Survey. New to the 2024 report, SmartAsset widened its analysis of income data from 100 to 345 of the largest American cities.

Austin's middle class income thresholds are the No. 85 highest out of all 345 U.S. cities, and the amounts are higher than the national average, the study found.

"In a large U.S. city, a middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000," the report says. "The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590."

Austin previously ranked No. 23 in SmartAsset's 2023 report, when the city's middle class income threshold ranged between $53,293 and $159,084 a year. The year-over-year difference is just another factor fueling the unsustainable cost of living in the Texas Capital.

Round Rock also earned a spot in the 2024 report, ranking No. 120 with a middle class income threshold between $54,531 and $163,608 annually. The median income for a middle class household in the North Austin suburb comes out to $81,804 a year.

These income woes aren't becoming more apparent just in the Austin-Round Rock metro area, either. The study's findings are shedding light on further growing financial stress and affordability struggles throughout the U.S., likely heightened by inflation and cost of living increases.

"As a middle-class American, there is some expectation for living a lifestyle of relative comfort," the report said. "But as costs have increased significantly over the last few years, the middle class is now feeling a squeeze in their finances."

Middle class income thresholds within the top 10 U.S. cities
Two Texas cities earned top-10 spots in the national comparison of U.S. cities with the highest income thresholds to be labeled middle class: The Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Frisco (No. 8), and The Woodlands (No. 10), a suburb outside Houston.

Frisco households need to make between $97,266 and $291,828 a year to be labeled "middle class," the report found. Additionally, the city's median middle class household income comes out to $145,914 a year.

Middle class households in The Woodlands make between $91,548 and $274,670 a year, with the median household income at $137,335, according to the report.

Unsurprisingly, half of the top 10 cities with the highest middle class income ceilings are in California. The report found households in four of the five cities could be bringing in over $300,000 a year in income and still be classified as middle class.

California’s overall high cost-of-living means residents in the No. 1 city of Sunnyvale would need to make between $113,176 and $339,562 a year to be labeled middle class. Sunnyvale overtook Fremont for the top spot in the report in 2024.

The top 10 cities with the highest middle class ceilings are:

• No. 1 – Sunnyvale, California
• No. 2 – Fremont, California
• No. 3 – San Mateo, California
• No. 4 – Santa Clara, California
• No. 5 – Bellevue, Washington
• No. 6 – Highlands Ranch, Colorado
• No. 7 – Carlsbad, California
• No. 8 – Frisco, Texas
• No. 9 – Naperville, Illinois
• No. 10 – The Woodlands, Texas

The full report and its methodology can be found on smartasset.com.