What does it take to be middle class where you live? [Video]

(NEXSTAR) — It can be hard to tell if you rank as middle class, especially when it feels like your paycheck doesn’t go as far as it once did (one government analysis suggests you need at least $10,000 more just to live like you did three years ago).

A new report from personal finance site SmartAsset reviewed data from the U.S. Census Bureau as well as the Pew Research Center to determine what it does take — at least on paper — to be considered middle class in all 50 states and 345 of the nation’s largest cities. 

The analysis used the Pew Research definition of “middle income,” which says a middle class salary range is two-thirds to double the area’s median salary. As of 2022 (the most recent Census data), the average median household income in the U.S. was $73,914, meaning the national range for the middle class is roughly $49,271 to …