A $100,000 salary qualifies as ‘lower-middle class’ in Colorado, new analysis finds
Apr 30, 2026, 4:52 PM
It wasn’t that long ago that making six figures made you “rich.” Boy have things changed quickly…
Households earning up to $107,903 in Colorado fall into the lower-middle-class bracket, according to a new analysis by fintech company MoneyLion that ranks the Centennial State eighth nationally among states where a $100,000 salary doesn’t go as far as it used to.
The analysis, which uses the Pew Research Center’s definition of the middle class, found that 12 states have lower-middle-class ceilings above $100,000 — meaning a household pulling in six figures can still find itself in the bottom third of middle-class earners.
MoneyLion used the Pew Research Center’s framework, which defines “middle class” as households earning between two-thirds and double the median income in a given state. The company then identified the bottom third of that middle-class range as “lower-middle class.”
For Colorado, the numbers break down as follows:
- Median household income: $97,113
- Annual cost of necessities: $60,157
- Top income for lower-middle class: $107,903
Colorado’s lower-middle-class ceiling of $107,903 puts it behind seven states where even higher incomes still qualify as lower-middle class:
| Rank | State | Top income for lower-middle class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $116,476 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $115,882 |
| 3 | Maryland | $114,339 |
| 4 | Hawaii | $111,939 |
| 5 | California | $111,277 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | $110,869 |
| 7 | Washington | $110,432 |
| 8 | Colorado | $107,903 |
| 9 | Utah | $107,398 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $106,721 |
| 11 | Alaska | $106,294 |
| 12 | Virginia | $102,322 |
The full MoneyLion analysis is available at moneylion.com.
