"What is middle class?" is a simple question with a very complex answer. Obviously, it depends on where one lives - but in Manhattan, New York, with cost of living that are akin to skyscrapers compared to other places in the United States, the answer becomes much muddier:
In a city like New York, where everything is superlative, who exactly is middle class? What kind of salary are we talking about? Where does a middle-class person live? And could the relentless rise in real estate prices push the middle class to extinction?
“A lot of people are hanging on by the skin of their teeth,” said Cheryl King, an acting coach who lives and works in a combined apartment and performance space that she rents out for screenings, video shoots and workshops to help offset her own high rent.
“My niece just bought a home in Atlanta for $85,000,” she said. “I almost spend that on rent and utilities in a year. To them, making $250,000 a year is wealthy. To us, it’s maybe the upper edge of middle class.”
“It’s horrifying,” she added.
Amy O'Leary of The New York Times explains: Link
But from what I've heard about the prices, there's no way I'd want to live in New York City.