PolicyLink and PERE
110
An Equity Profile of Orange County
Middle-class analysis
Page 43 of the equity profile shows a decline
in the share of households falling in the
middle class in the region since 1979 as well
as the racial/ethnic composition of middle-
class households over time. To analyze
middle-class decline, we began with the
regional household income distribution in
1979—the year for which income is reported
in the 1980 Census (and the 1980 IPUMS
microdata). The middle 40 percent of
households were defined as "middle class,"
and the upper and lower bounds in terms of
household income (adjusted for inflation to
be in 2016 dollars) that contained the middle
40 percent of households were identified. We
then adjusted these bounds over time to
increase (or decrease) at the same rate as real
average household income growth,
identifying the share of households falling
above, below, and in-between the adjusted
bounds as the upper, lower, and middle class,
respectively, for each year shown.
Data and methods
Thus, the analysis of the size and composition
of the middle class examines households
enjoying the same relative standard of living
in each year as the middle 40 percent of
households did in 1979.
