Who is the working class? Depends on who you ask

Political candidates often vow to defend the working class. The Pew Research Center took a deeper dive into who they actually are.(CN) — While most Americans think of themselves as “working class," that identity looks different based on education, income, race, ethnicity and even partisanship, according to data released Monday by the Pew Research Center.The working class is central to many social and political conversations in America today, especially as November midterm elections approach and candidates pledge to protect those people in exchange for their support. But those discussions often use the term in different ways, referring to very different groups of people.The Oxford English Dictionary describes the term as being “from or connected with the social class whose members do not have much money or power and are usually employed to do manual work.”Overall, 60% of U.S. adults say the term describes them very well, according to the data. The working class identity is widely adopted by people across all income and educational groups.Americans without a college degree and those who are middle income are most likely to identify as working class. But large shares of higher-income and more educated adults also say they are part of the working class, the data found.Pew’s analysis draws primarily on a nationally representative survey of 8,512 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 20-26, 2026, on the Center’s American Trends Panel.Those with lower financial stress are less likely to describe themselves as working class. Even so, half of Americans who consistently pay their bills in full, have several months of emergency savings and can comfortably meet their expenses consider themselves working class.Political identity also plays a major role. Majorities of Republicans, across every educational, economic and occupational groups, are more likely to see themselves as working class than Democrats — 67% of Republicans and Republican leaners said “working class” describes them well, compared with 55% of Democrats.The partisan gap is widest among higher income and more financially comfortable adults, as Democrats in that demographic were found to be generally less likely to identify themselves with the term, while Republicans were more likely.However, the partisan divide is nearly identical among Americans with and without bachelor’s degrees. Among college graduates, 56% of Republicans identify as working class, compared with 44% of Democrats.Working-class Identification also differs by race and ethnicity.In particular, white adults are more likely than Black adults to identify as working class. About 6 in 10 white and Hispanic adults overall view themselves as working class, as do roughly half of Black and Asian adults.The number of Americans who view themselves as part of this group has increased in recent years. In 2024, 54% of Americans said the term described them well, compared to 60% who do so today.Categories / Economy, PoliticsSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads