Middle Class Falling Behind on Standard Income Metric

Average Cumulative Growth in Income After Transfers and Taxes

Note: Middle class is made up of the second, third, and fourth income quintiles. 2016 dollars using PCE. Income after transfers and taxes includes market income, social insurance, which includes Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers compensation, means-tested transfers, which includes Medicaid and CHIP, SNAP, housing assistance programs, SSI, TANF/AFDC, child nutrition programs, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, and state and local government general assistance, and subtracts federal taxes, which includes individual income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, and excise taxes.
Source: Source: Congressional Budget Office Get the data