By Carly Sauvageau, Reno Gazette Journal
The expectation of being middle class is often defined by homeownership, raising kids, having emergency funds, having retirement savings, and being able to splurge on the occasional vacation. Pew Research defines the middle class in practice as earning between two-thirds and two times the US median income.
However, meeting the mark of being middle class varies by state and its local job market, housing affordability and infrastructure, among other factors.
But in recent years, the dreams associated with being middle class might feel increasingly out of reach.
In Nevada, though gas prices have dropped since last month, they are still 60 cents more than they were last June. Meanwhile, grocery prices increased 2.9% from April 2025 to April 2026, the USDA said. And in May, the price of a single-family home hit a record high, tying the 2022 level during the COVID-19 housing boom.
SmartAsset published a study to determine what it means to be middle-class in each state by ranking all of the states and the 100 largest cities in the United States based on the upper boundary of middle-class income using data from the 2024 U.S. Census and Pew Research Center studies.
Here is what it looks like to be middle class in Nevada, according to the SmartAsset study.
What does it take to be middle class in Nevada?
The median middle-class household income in Nevada is $81,134, which ranked the No. 22 spot out of the highest median incomes across the country, according to SmartAsset.
To be considered middle class in Nevada, the SmartAsset study states that you would have to make at least $54,089. For context, a person earning Nevada’s minimum wage of $12 would need to work more hours than two full-time jobs (80 hours) to be considered middle class.
On the other end of the spectrum of Nevada’s middle class, defined by SmartAsset, any household income above $162,268 would be considered upper class.
How SmartAsset assessed middle class by state and cities
To determine what the income requirements and limits are to being middle class in different locations, SmartAsset analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 1-year American Community Survey data for the median household income in all 50 states and among the 100 largest U.S. cities.
SmartAsset stated that it then used the Pew Research definition of middle-class households, which indicates the salary range from two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary, to help determine the middle-class income range.
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
