How Would You Define Your Economic Class? — Survey of the Day

America is a middle-class nation, at least if you ask Americans. Gallup surveyed 1,009 adults if they were "upper class," "upper-middle class," "middle class," "working class" or "lower class."

Forty-two percent responded that they were middle class, followed by 31 percent who classified themselves as working class. Thirteen percent answered upper-middle class, 10 percent lower class. and only 2 percent pegged themselves as upper class.

Gallup has been asking this question yearly since 2001, and the year-to-year responses have been fairly static. The most significant change in economic classification over the last decade is in the lower-class grouping, which has risen from 3 percent in 2001 to 10 percent today.

[Gallup]