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Advanced education is one of the most distinguishing features of the upper middle class.

The American upper middle class consists mostly of salaried white collar professionals.

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle class". There is considerable debate as to how the upper middle class might be defined. According to sociologist Max Weber the upper middle class consists of well-educated professionals with graduate degrees and comfortable incomes.

The American upper middle class is defined similarly using income, education and occupation as the predominant indicators.^[1] In the United States, the upper middle class is defined as consisting mostly of white collar professionals who not only have above-average personal incomes and advanced educational degrees^[1] but also a higher degree of autonomy in their work.^[2] The main occupational tasks of upper middle class individuals tend to center on conceptualizing, consulting, and instruction.^[3]

American upper middle class

See American Professional/Managerial middle class for a complete overview of the American middle classes.

In the United States the term middle class and its subdivisions are an extremely vague concept as neither economists nor sociologists have precisely defined the term.^[4] There are several perceptions of the upper middle class and what the term means. In academic models the term applies to highly educated salaried professionals whose work is largely self-directed. Many have graduate degrees with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly may exceed $100,000, with some smaller one-income earners earning incomes in the high 5-figure range.^[1][5] Typical professions for this class include lawyers, physicians, dentists, engineers, accountants, professors, architects, economists, political scientists, pharmacists, school principals, civil service executives and civilian contractors.^[3][6]

In addition to having autonomy in their work, above-average incomes, and advanced educations, the upper middle class also tends to be influential, setting trends and largely shaping public opinion.^[3][5] Overall, members of this class are also secure from economic down-turns and, unlike their counterparts in the statistical middle class, do not need to fear downsizing, corporate cost-cutting, or outsourcing—an economic benefit largely attributable to their graduate degrees and comfortable incomes, likely in the top income quintile or top third.^[1]

Income

While many Americans cite income as the prime determinant of class, occupational status, educational attainment, and value systems are equally important variables. Income is in part determined by the scarcity of certain skill sets.^[1] As a result an occupation that requires a scarce skill, the attainment of which is often achieved through an educational degree, and entrusts its occupant with a high degree of influence will usually offer high economic compensation. The high income is meant to ensure that individuals obtain the necessary skills (e.g., by attending law, medical, or graduate school) and complete their tasks with the necessary valor.^[7] There are also differences between household and individual income. In 2005, 42% of US households (76% among the top quintile) had two or more income earners; as a result, 18% of households but only 5% of individuals had six figure incomes.^[8] To illustrate, two nurses each making $55,000 per year can out-earn, in a household sense, a single attorney who makes a median of $95,000 annually.^[9][10]

Sociologists Dennis Gilbert, Willam Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate the upper middle class to constitute roughly 15% of the population. Using the 15% figure one may conclude that the American upper middle class consists, strictly in an income sense, of professionals with personal incomes in excess of $62,500, who commonly reside in households with six figure incomes.^{[1][5][8][11]} The difference between personal and household income can be explained by considering that 76% of households with incomes exceeding $90,000 (the top 20%) had two or more income earners.^[8]

Note that the above income thresholds may vary greatly based on region due to significant differences in average income based on region and urban, suburban, or rural development. In more expensive suburbs, the threshold for the top 15% of income earners may be much higher. For example, in 2006 the ten highest income counties had median household incomes of $85,000 compared to a national average of about $50,000. The top 15% of all US income earners nationally tend to be more concentrated in these richer suburban counties where the cost of living is also higher. If middle class households earning between the 50th percentile ($46,000) and the 85th percentile ($62,500) tend to live in lower cost of living areas, then their difference in real income may be smaller than what the differences in nominal income suggest.

Values

Those encompassing this station in life statistically espouse high regard for higher education, striving for themselves and their children to obtain undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Political ideology is not found to be co-related with social class,^{[citation needed]} however, a statistical relationship is seen between the level of one's educational attainment and the likelihood of that person subscribing to a particular political ideology. In terms of income, liberals tend to be tied with pro-business conservatives.^[14] Most mass affluent households tend to be more right wing-leaning on fiscal issues but more left wing-leaning on social issues.^[15] The majority, between 50% and 60%, of households with incomes above $50,000 overall, not all of whom are upper middle class,^[5] supported the Republican Party in the 2000, 2004 and 2006 elections.^[16][16][17] Nevertheless, those with graduate degrees overall statistically favor the Democratic Party.^[17][18][19] In 2005, 72% of surveyed full-time faculty members at four-year institutions, the majority of whom would be considered upper middle class,^[1] identified themselves as liberal.^[20]

The upper middle class is often the group that shapes society and brings social movements to the forefront. Movements such as the Peace Movement, The Anti-Nuclear Movement, Environmentalism, the Anti-smoking movement, and even in the past with blue laws and the temperance movement are all products of the upper middle class. Some claim this is because this is the largest class (and the lowest class) with any true political power for positive change, while others claim some of the more restrictive social movements (such as with smoking and drinking) are based upon "saving people from themselves."^[3]

British upper middle class

This section needs integrating with Social_structure_of_Britain#Upper_middle_class (Discuss).
"Integration" means cross-linking and distinguishing (to/from each other),
or sometimes merging (if consensus suggests).

The Upper Middle class in Britain consists of the educated professionals who generally come from higher income backgrounds. This stratum, in England, traditionally uses Received Pronunciation natively. A typical Mosaic geodemographic type for this group would be cultural leadership. It is also usually assumed that this class is most predominant in the Home Counties of South East England and the more affluent borroughs of London. The county of Surrey, for instance, is popularly portrayed as being associated with people from this social class.

Like America, the British Upper Middle-Class tends to vere off into two separate branches. The first being the professional class, sometimes referred to as the chattering classes because of their keen attention to current events and trends. This professional class sub-strata tend to work in the higher professions where they specialise in an area of expertise that often puts them into contact with the needs of otheres. Examples of upper-middle class professionals would be university lecturers, writers, known artists, scientists, physicians, veterinarians, dentists, barristers, judges, architects, top flight engineers, high-level civil servants, upper enchelon Army and Navy commissioned officers, national journalists, and known entertainers. They are nearly always highly educateded with advanced post-graduate degrees from prestigious universities, such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, St. Andrews, and the Red Brick Universities. This is the class which is on the vanguard of most social causes and political movements. Political activism and crusading for various social causes is particularly prevelant amongst the professional class wing of the group. This sub-strata is also at the forefront of most social and consumer trends. Consumer goods such as foreign wines and cheeses are especially popular, often earning this sept the nickname of the brie and cabernet set, or guardianistas because of their avid readership of the British left-wing daily newspaper, the Guardian.

The second branch of the British upper middle-class is what is known as the managerial class. They hold senior leadership and upper management positions within British finance, manufacturing, construction, banking and trade. They are often not as highly educated and urbane in their tastes as the professional class, but they are overwhelmingly better compensated financially. While the professional class has a tendency to be socially liberal and often vote for the Liberal Democrat Party at election time, the managerial class are more likely to be socially conservative and vote the Conservative Party line. Both groups, however, have a tendency to be fiscally conservative. This aspect is one of the major dividers between the socially liberal Professional Class and the more broader based British middle-class and most certainly the working-class, both of whom generally have more left-leaning or even socialist view of the economy, as their numbers make up the bedrock of the British Labour Party. Other differences between the two strands can be seen in residential patterns. While the professional class tend to live in more urban environments of the larger cities, such as Richmond-upon-Thames, Wimbledon, Hampstead, Highgate and Fulham in London, the managerial class often prefer to live further out into the exurbs and dormitory towns of London, especially those found in rural Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, West Sussex, Surrey, Hertfordshire and the western areas of Kent. Nevertheless, the professional class and the managerial class wings of the British upper middle-class do share some similarities besides membership in the same overall social class, particularly with regard to the fact that the vast majority were educated at fee-paying independent schools. It is also oftern argued that most were born into relative priviledge, which along with ample financial resources, also provided them with the social contacts needed to advance them ahead of those born less fortunate. These advantages are what propels many of their number into the most prestigious universities, and from there on to the best jobs, working for the best paying and most highly coveted firms.

Unlike the truly wealthy and the aristocracy, the British upper middle-class must work for a living in order to survive, but they almost universally enjoy great freedom and autonomy in their work. They are often well compensated for their services, and consequently they are the main drivers of British consumerism. They are the primary purchasers of luxury goods and high-end real estate. A family of four will most likely own at least two late model luxury cars and a large detatched house with at least four bedrooms. They will usually take at least two foreign holidays a year and will have travelled widely, particularly in their youth. Many take gap years either in the year imediately before or after entering university.

See also

• Bourgeois
• Middle class
• Great Burgher
• Bildungsbürgertum
• Social class
• Social structure of Britain
• Upper middle class in the United States
• Upper Class

References

External links

• Definition of Middle Class stratification
• Relationship between income and education