A resident of Butte, Montana. The share of middle-class households grew more in Montana than in any other state between 2013 and 2016.
Janie Osborne/Getty Images
Editor’s note: this story was updated April 12 to correctly describe the Cato Institute as libertarian.
After losing ground in 49 states — all but Wyoming — between 2000 and 2013, the U.S. middle class is slowly clawing its way back.
In 38 states, a larger share of households were “middle class” — defined as earning between two-thirds and twice the state’s size-adjusted median household income — in 2016 than in 2013, according to a new Stateline analysis.
However, there’s still a lot of catching up to do: In 2016 there were 30 states where at least half of households were middle class, up from 28 in 2013 but still down from 43 states in 2000.
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