How much money you need to make to be 'middle class' in Michigan

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit has one of the lowest middle class income limits among big cities in the United States, ranking only above Cleveland.

What you must earn to be middle class depends on where you live, with some areas stretching well into the $200,000s. In Freemont, Calif, you can make as much as almost $312,000 and still be considered middle class.

SmartAsset looked at income data from the Census Bureau to determine the middle class income thresholds for the 100 largest U.S. cities, along with each state's threshold.

In Michigan, you are considered middle class if your household makes $42,544 to $126,996. The median household income is $63,498.

In Detroit, that threshold decreases to $24,214 to $72,280, with a median household income of $36,140.

According to the study, salaries in northeastern states are about 20% higher than those in southern states, even when the cost of living is taken into account.

In the northeast, many middle class salaries fall between $60,000 to $170,000. However, many southern middle class salaries are between  $35,000 to $100,000.

SmartAsset calculated these ranges by looking at U.S. Census Bureau data. The study used the Pew Research definition of middle class range – two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary. Local median salary for states and large cities to account for the diversity of financial realities.