The Middle Class in the USA 美国中产阶级

界定中产阶级两大因素：收入（income） 教育（education）
Income : For the 50 percent of families in the middle of the scale,
household income ranges from $51,000 to $123,000 for a typical four-person, two-parent family. The median is about $81,000. Those numbers are from 2008, and have probably fallen 5 to 7 percent since then, on account of the recession. Median income for a single-parent, two-child family is about $25,000.
美国中产阶级住房
Thank you
Vacations One week at the beach or another destination is standard, at a cost of $3,000 or so for four. More affluent families can afford two weeks, at a typical cost of $6,100. 典型的四口之家每年约花3千美元度一星期假。稍富裕的家庭约花6 千1百美元度两个星期假。
Everyday Spending
Clothes, food, utilities, entertainment and other living expenses amount to $14,200 a year for a median-income family. Not surprisingly, this is one set expenses many families are trying to reduce, by buying more discount brands, using less or doing without. 日常开支 中值收入的家庭每年花在衣食水电娱乐和其他开支上的费用约为1万4千2百。 许多家庭试图买打折品或减少使用或不用在这项开支上节省。
is worth about $231,000, accounting for $17,600 in mortgage payments and other costs per year. Housing costs have risen by more than twice as much as income since 1990, a trend that may finally be reversing thanks to the housing bust. 一个典型双亲家庭的房屋约值23万1千美元，年按揭和其他开支 约为1万7千6百美元。
Home Size : The housing bubble was one factor that boosted
housing costs, but the typical family also lives in a much bigger home. The median size of a new, single-family home jumped by 40 percent between 1979 and 2007, to about 2,300 square feet. That may now be declining, as families downsize and some get booted from homes they can't afford.
家庭规模
家庭规模是增加家庭开支的一大因素，但是典型的中产阶级家庭的规 模都比较大。
Cars
The typical family spends about $12,400 per year on two medium-sized sedans or the equivalent, with a new-car value of $45,000. The recession may have dampened our love of the road, however: Americans are driving less and car sales are off about 40 percent. 汽车 一个典型双亲家庭每年在两辆中性小轿车上的开支约为1万2千4百美元。 新车的价值约4万5千。经济衰退中美国的汽车销售下降了约40%。
Household Net Worth
The typical household has a net worth of about $84,000, according to the Federal Reserve. That's down 30 percent since 2007, thanks to losses in stock portfolios and home values. 家庭净值 根据联邦储备银行资料，由于股票和房屋价值下降，一个典型家庭净值 约为8万4千美元，比2007年下降了30%。
Retirement Savings
A median-income family that saved 3.2 percent of its income—roughly equivalent to the national saving rate—would sock away nearly $2,600 per year for retirement. Of course many families don't hit even that modest goal, and stock-market losses over the last several years have further shrunk the national nest egg. 退休储蓄 中值收入的家庭约储蓄收入的3.2%，大约正好是全美平均值。也即美国人 每年为退休储蓄约为2千6百美元。许许多多家庭达不到这个水平。股市的 动荡进一步蚕食了国民储蓄。
字典里的定义
《美国传统词典》（The American Heritage Dictionary）是这样定 义中产阶级的：“介于工人阶级和上层阶级之间的社会经济阶级，通 常包括专业人士、高技能工人和中底层管理者。” 然而，大多数美国人却把美国看成一个没有阶级的社会，通常把这一 阶层同收入、职业、兴趣爱好乃至生活方式联系起来。医生、教师、 律师和水管工都可能是中产阶级。
The Middle Class in the USA
Definition: Despite the so-called
recovery, many families continue to struggle, with income and other living standards slipping below thresholds that typically represent middle-class quality of life. We've assembled a variety of metrics to help determine whether you're getting ahead, holding steady, or slipping further than most.
Education
The typical household head has a high school degree plus about two years of college education, up by more than a full year of college since 1990. Good thing—education is a key factor in lifetime earnings, and high school dropouts face a dim future by nearly every measure. 教育 典型家庭家长的教育水平为高中毕业后在上两年大专，比1990年多出 一年。高中缀学生在各方面面临的前景都比较黯淡。
收入
2008年数字，中间水平的50%的四口之家年收入在 5万1千美元～12万3千美 元间，中数是8万1千美元。估计现在这个数字下降了5%～7%。有两个孩子 的单亲家庭的中位数收入约为两万5千美元。
Housing Costs :For two-parent families, the typical home
Debt
About 18 percent of disposable income, on average, goes toward mortgage payments, auto loans, credit cards and other forms of household debt. That's a bit higher than it was in the '70s and '80s. But since debt payments peaked at the beginning of 2008, at 18.9 percent of income, they've been steadily falling. 债务 平均约18%的可支配收入用来付按揭，汽车贷款，信用卡和其他家庭债 务，高于70年代和80年代的水平。2008年这个数字达到高峰值18
College Savings
The typical family puts aside $4,100 for college expenses for two kids, estimated to cover about 75 percent of expenses at a state university. Financial aid helps with the rest. But if possible, toss more into the college fund: As states face budget crunches, tuition and fees are going up. 高等教育储蓄 典型家庭平均每年为两个孩子上大学储蓄4千1百美元，估计够交州立大学学费 的75%。可是学费和杂费每年都在上升。