Study: Wisconsin Has Greatest Number Of Middle-Class Metro Areas

A Pew Research Center study suggests Wisconsin has more middle-class metro areas than the rest of the country, but the average incomes among those middle-class families have seen steady decline.

Pew Research studied 229 metro areas around the country to measure changes in the middle class between 2000 and 2014. Most areas saw declines in the number of adults living in middle-class households.

But, according to Rakesh Kochhar, Pew associate director of research, the Badger State stands out.

“Four of the top 10 areas in the country, in terms of how many people are middle class, are in Wisconsin, and leading the group of metro areas is Wausau where almost 70 percent of adults are in middle-income households,” said Kochhar

But the Pew report shows incomes in Wisconsin have declined in areas like Eau Claire, Janesville-Beloit and Milwaukee.

“So, in some of these Wisconsin communities, even though you have six in 10 adults in the middle income, their incomes have been falling. In fact, Sheboygan is an area where the incomes of the middle class fell by just about the most,” said Kochhar.

The Pew study suggests metros in Janesville, Milwaukee and Racine have also seen economic regression among middle-class adults at a greater rate than the rest of the nation.