The middle class in the U.S. is smaller than in Western Europe % of adult population in lower-, middle- and upper- income households, 2010
In 2010, households in the U.S. were more economically divided than households in the Western European countries examined in this report. The U.S. is the only country in which fewer than six-in-ten adults were in the middle class. Meanwhile, compared with those in many Western European countries, greater shares of Americans were either lower income (26%) or upper income (15%).
The middle class is a significant presence in the Western European countries analyzed, even as it is shrinking in many countries. Middle-class shares ranged from 64% in Spain to 80% in Denmark and Norway in 2010. The share of adults who were lower income was lowest in the Netherlands (13%) and highest in Spain (24%), and upper-income shares ranged from 6% in Norway to 14% in the UK.
The middle class in the U.S. is smaller  | than in Western Europe  | % of adult population in lower-, middle- and upper-  | income households, 2010  | Upper  | Lower  | Middle  | income income  | income  | Denmark 14%  | 7%  | 80%  | 6 8 9 8 8  | Norway 14  | 80  | Netherlands 13  | 79  | Finland 17  | 75  | Luxembourg 17  | 75  | France 17  | 74  | Germany 18  | 72  | 10  | Ireland 19  | 12  | 69  | Italy 22  | 67  | 11  | UK 19  | 67  | 14  | Spain 24  | 64  | 13  | U.S. 26  | 59  | 15  | Note: Middle-income households havedisposable incomes thatare  | two-thirds to double the national mediandisposa bbe income after  | incomes have been adjustedfor household size. Lower-income  | households have incomes less than two-thirds ofthe median and  | upper-income households have :incomes thatare more than double  | the median. The income bounda ries are based on each country's  | own median disposable household income  | Source: Pew Research Centeranalysis of data from the Cross-  | National Data Center in Luxembourg (LIS).  | "Middle Class Fortunes in Westem Europe"  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 