WAY OF LIFE

Study: Middle-Class Shrinking

While fewer Americans think it’s a reachable way of life.

Say goodbye to the middle class—or at least, that’s what a majority of Americans believe. The U.S. middle class is shrinking—and more Americans don’t believe they will achieve that way of life—according to a study released on Wednesday by the Pew Research Center. Only 51 percent of all adults are considered middle class, down from 61 percent in 1971, but the study did find that part of the shrinkage came from more people joining the upper classes, which now represent 20 percent of the nation, up from 14 percent in 1971. But those aren't all of the gains: the lower-income group rose to 29 percent of all adults, up from 25 percent in 1971.