Upper income level

Upper income level is a demographic variable assigned when a persons income level is in the top portion (usually 1.5 - 2 standard deviations above the mean) in the population under evaluation. Where income is related to class then this level would relate to upper middle class or upper class, athough this relationship is not always reliable.

If we take an American example. Sociologists Dennis Gilbert, Willam Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate the upper middle class to constitute roughly 15% of the population. Using the 15% figure one may conclude that the American upper middle class consists, strictly in an income sense, of professionals with personal incomes in excess of $62,500, who commonly reside in households with six figure incomes. The difference between personal and household income can be explained by considering that 76% of households with incomes exceeding $90,000 (the top 20%) had two or more income earners.

SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2006