A limitation of these studies is they look at a state as a whole, rather than by metro regions. The costs of living in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue-Everett area, and salaries thereto, far exceed costs and salaries in Yakima, for example.
That.
Before divorce, the household income was way above the upper limit 'middle class' for my state, but we were maybe middle of the road where we lived. Where I'm at now, I'm way at the poor end of the scale, but my household income is well above median for my state.
