When asked how they identify their social class 54% of Americans said they belong to the middle class, according to one survey.

“The Bear” is the story of a workaday Chicago sandwich joint switching gears to become a fine dining establishment. But restaurant kitchens of all types are an ecosystem where class issues play out.

In 2025, the concept of what it means to be “upper class” varies significantly across generations, with Gen Z, Millennials, and Boomers each setting different salary benchmarks to achieve this status.

Certain markers of high status may more strongly boost attitudes toward women versus men, and low status markers may more strongly worsen attitudes toward men versus women—with both findings more ...

Upper-middle-class status has always been a moving target, but in 2025 the bar has shifted higher and become more dependent on where you live. A salary that once felt aspirational can now be barely ...

The middle class is a relatively new class, globally and domestically in the United States. For long stretches of history, people were divided into the “haves” and the “have nots” as a way of ...