<p>It’s not so much income that defines middle class for me as lifestyle. My parents both worked at what are solidly middle-class careers (the one where you get summers off 
). They managed to buy a house in a wonderful area in a major city, sent all of their children through well thought of public 4-year colleges (and in some cases grad school), and are enjoying a financially comfortable retirement. Their employer provided a pension and generous health care; one of my siblings alone had medical bills that were in the six figures 
which were covered by insurance. </p>
<p>Living in this same area, could another couple with the same type of middle class jobs manage this nowadays? Possible, I suppose, but tough. My parents had less (inflation adjusted) income than my spouse and I do, but our benefits aren’t as generous. A large chunk of that larger income goes towards things that were “included” in that long-ago middle-class lifestyle. </p>
<p>On the other hand, my parents had to make do without the internet, Magic Erasers, DVDs, kiwi fruit, smoke-free hotel rooms and cars that had no crumple zones or airbags, to name a few things, so there have been a few compensations.</p>