A new study tracking the upper and lower thresholds for middle class households across the nation's largest cities has revealed Houstonians need to make at least a grand more than last year to maintain their middle class status this year.
According to SmartAsset's just-released annual report, "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America – 2026 Study," Houston households need to make anywhere from $42,907 to $128,722 to qualify as middle class earners this year.
Compared to 2025, Houstonians need to make $1,153 more per year to meet the minimum threshold for a middle class status, whereas the upper bound has stretched $3,448 higher. The median income for a Houston household in 2024 was $64,361, the study added.
SmartAsset's experts used 2024 Census Bureau median household income data for the 100 biggest U.S. cities and all 50 states and determined middle class income ranges by using a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary."
In the report's ranking of the U.S. cities with the highest household incomes needed to maintain a middle class status, Houston ranked No. 80.
In the report's state-by-state comparison, Texas has the 24th highest middle class income range. Overall, Texas households need to make between $53,147 and $159,442 to be labeled "middle class" in 2026. For additional context, the median income for a Texas household in 2024 came out to $79,721.
"Often, the expectations that come with the term 'middle class' include reaching home ownership, raising kids, the comfort of modest emergency funds and retirement savings, and the occasional splurge or vacation," the report said. "And as the median household income varies widely across the U.S. depending on the local job market, housing market, infrastructure and other factors, so does swing the bounds on what constitutes a middle class income in America."
What it takes to be middle class elsewhere around Texas
Two Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs – Frisco and Plano – have some of the highest middle class income ranges in the country for 2026, SmartAsset found.
Frisco households need to make between $96,963 and $290,888 to qualify as middle class this year, which is the third-highest middle class income range nationwide.
Plano's middle class income range is the eighth highest nationally, with households needing to make between $77,267 and $231,802 for the designation.
Salary range needed to be a middle class earner in other Texas cities:
- No. 28 – Austin: between $60,287 and $180,860
- No. 40 – Irving: between $56,566 and $169,698
- No. 44 – Fort Worth: between $55,002 and $165,006
- No. 57 – Garland: between $50,531 and $151,594
- No. 60 – Arlington: between $49,592 and $148,77
- No. 61 – Dallas: between $49,549 and $148,646
- No. 73 – Corpus Christi: between $44,645 and $133,934
- No. 77 – San Antonio: between $44,117 and $132,352
- No. 83 – Lubbock: between $41,573 and $124,720
- No. 84 – Laredo: between $41,013 and $123,038
- No. 89 – El Paso: between $39,955 and $119,864
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.
