alt Hacker NewsDoesn't "average" = "middle class" by definition?
US median individual income in 2022 was $48k
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_...
> The “average person” doesn’t make enough money to pay rent or afford groceries
<1% of the US population is homeless, and ~10% receive food stamps. The average person makes enough money to pay rent and buy groceries.
Just because people aren’t homeless and don’t qualify for food stamps doesn’t mean they can afford things.
You need to make less than $33k for a family of 3 to even qualify for food stamps and then get disqualified if your total assets are above $4.5K. If you’re an adult without children, your food stamps eligibility is capped at 3 months every 3 years. A lot of people who need food stamps, do not qualify for them.
Credit card debt is $1.2T, out of which 10% is delinquent for more than 90 days. https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2025/may/broad-con...
Student loan debt is at $1.7T.
People are going into debt to buy groceries. https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/05/20/americans-are-going-into...
The average American life is way worse than what people generally make it out to be.