Am I the only one,

[mawilson 2,133]

Maybe in your circles, but(according to Wikipedia) "In 2006 the average weekly wage in Manhattan was $1,453". That works out to a little less than $36K per year.

Wikipedia is either wrong or out of date.

"New figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show Manhattan residents earned $2,821 a week on average,

nearly $1,000 more than the second highest earning region, Fairfield County, Conn. It is an increase of 16.7%

from the same time last year."

link

Even if $1,453 is right, I don't see how it "works out to less than $36K per year."

There are 52 weeks in a year, 52 x $1,453 = $75,556 - a little less than $76K

Using the correct number, $2,821 per week, the average annual wage is $146,692 (which is close to $150K.)

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

150K is lower middle class in Manhattan. If you work in Manhattan and make 150K you probably live in one of the outer boros or in a less desirable section of Jersey or in a manhattan shoebox with a dozen roommates.... in Jersey 150k is probably smack in the middle of the middle class... If I wanted to move to a nice (wealthy) part of Jersey (I like Basking Ridge a lot), I'd need my wife and I to make at least 250k a year before taxes. Until then, I stay down in the flood plains of the raritan...

Edited May 7, 2008 by VJ Troll

[Jenn! 918]

I just found this distribution for social class:

1% - Upper class

15% - Upper Middle class

32% - Lower Middle class

32% - Working class

20% - Lower class

Anyway, OT, but the comment about $150K being lower middle class in Manhattan didn't sound right to me, so I looked it up, and I guess it is. I never really looked at lower middle class as a good thing.

[mawilson 2,133]

Lots more of us struggling folks than overpaid Wall St. azzholes, even in the rich, increasingly white enclave of Manhattan.

Are you calling me an azzhole?

I just found this distribution for social class:

1% - Upper class

15% - Upper Middle class

32% - Lower Middle class

32% - Working class

20% - Lower class

Anyway, OT, but the comment about $150K being lower middle class in Manhattan didn't sound right to me, so I looked it up, and I guess it is. I never really looked at lower middle class as a good thing.

Interesting. So the "average" is "lower middle class", eh?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

One can live will on a manhattan lower middle class salary if one chooses to live in the distant jersey burbs. Thousands of people do it every day, the trains are always standing room only. Imagine 3-4 hours every day, spent in the train. It's a crazy lifestyle (IMO) but one that is extremely common around here.

[Sister Fracas 5]

WOW....it's mind boggling. I wonder what those numbers are for Chicago

[mawilson 2,133]

One can live will on a manhattan lower middle class salary if one chooses to live in the distant jersey burbs. Thousands of people do it every day, the trains are always standing room only. Imagine 3-4 hours every day, spent in the train. It's a crazy lifestyle (IMO) but one that is extremely common around here.

One can also live in Brooklyn on a lower middle class Manhattan salary, with a 30-40 minute commute to the city.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Yeah, but places like Woodbridge have better public schools than Brooklyn does. 150k isn't enough to pay for a good pvt school. That's why so many people with kids make that choice.

Edited May 7, 2008 by VJ Troll

[Fandango 1,439]

you can't live comfy in the city on $150k

[Nasturtium 500]

I just found this distribution for social class:

1% - Upper class

15% - Upper Middle class

32% - Lower Middle class

32% - Working class

20% - Lower class

Anyway, OT, but the comment about $150K being lower middle class in Manhattan didn't sound right to me, so I looked it up, and I guess it is. I never really looked at lower middle class as a good thing.

There are two conflicting things though-- there is social class divided by actual monetary class and then social class divided by actual social class. Lots of people who consider themselves (socially) middle class are actually working-class. Some are below poverty-- this includes people like students.

[Jenn! 918]

I just found this distribution for social class:

1% - Upper class

15% - Upper Middle class

32% - Lower Middle class

32% - Working class

20% - Lower class

Anyway, OT, but the comment about $150K being lower middle class in Manhattan didn't sound right to me, so I looked it up, and I guess it is. I never really looked at lower middle class as a good thing.

There are two conflicting things though-- there is social class divided by actual monetary class and then social class divided by actual social class. Lots of people who consider themselves (socially) middle class are actually working-class. Some are below poverty-- this includes people like students.

You mean posers?

[Sister Fracas 5]

I just found this distribution for social class:

1% - Upper class

15% - Upper Middle class

32% - Lower Middle class

32% - Working class

20% - Lower class

Anyway, OT, but the comment about $150K being lower middle class in Manhattan didn't sound right to me, so I looked it up, and I guess it is. I never really looked at lower middle class as a good thing.

There are two conflicting things though-- there is social class divided by actual monetary class and then social class divided by actual social class. Lots of people who consider themselves (socially) middle class are actually working-class. Some are below poverty-- this includes people like students.

You mean posers?

LOL and the same ones racking up oodles of credit card debt...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Well, I don't even think the labels should apply to students. They're students. There's no expectation of income.

[Imua 0]

you can't live comfy in the city on $150k

I am not seriously hurting on less than a third of that... But then my lifestyle isn't for everyone - depends on your definition of 'comfy'. I am sharing a rent-controlled apartment in Queens - which, granted, technically wouldn't be considered 'the city'. I have lived twice on the UWS, once as a Columbia grad student in 1990-91 and again in 2003-04. During that last stint as a Manhattanite my rent for a 170sf room in a lovely prewar on RSD was $575/month. I was still able to go on a trip to China and Tibet that year and I was not hurting for anything - I do know how to live simply though. I ended up moving back to Queens because I missed the neighborhoods and my commute wasn't really all that quicker, especially in winter. The things that most 6-figure income NYers seem to consider necessities don't even appeal to me - the $5 coffees, the boring 'designer' black clothing, the restaurants that are all hype where the food really isn't that wonderful. It will be difficult until G gets a job and we can (hopefully) find our own place but somehow we will manage - I pray that Queens still remains affordable in the next couple of years.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Pattu Rani

[Nasturtium 500]

You mean posers?

LOL! Actually it's usually those who had parents who were real middle class and for whatever reason they have fallen on hard times.. or those who socially "fit" middle class but just don't make enough money to monetarily fit it. I know my parents were always considered middle class by many people-- my mother was a clinical psychologist who worked for the state and my father was a social psychologist who went on to teach adjunct at a university (state) after he "retired." Together, they still did not qualify as "Middle class" for YEARS (income-wise), and finally they ended up qualifying as lower middle class. My parents went to IU (Indiana), CS Long Beach, and Standford for their schools. They spent most of their spare time doing things like gardening, saving and going on trips to see historical sites, national parks, international trips, etc, and always owned their own home with at least one car, usually two, but I remember my dad did a motorcycle thing for a while They were always good with their money, so they ended up having as much as everyone else who made twice the income-- just by being thrifty. Most people tend to not consider those who have PhDs and are working in a professional setting as "lower class" but it does happen depending on how you set the cut-off. I know most of my friends who work as professional anthropologists top out at about 35k. If one person in a couple is working and another is at home, and 35k is all they make...