Are you middle class? This calculator will tell you

Wage protests at the University of Minnesota
Workers and other supporters of a minimum $15 hourly wage, paid sick days and other benefits staged a demonstration at the University of Minnesota this spring. The stagnation of wages is one of the factors that has contributed to the shrinking middle class.
Martin Moylan | MPR News

The number of Americans who identify themselves as middle class continues to fall.

The share has dropped from roughly 53 percent in 2008 to 44 percent in 2014, according to Rakesh Kochhar, an associate director of research at the Pew Research Center.

Those numbers, however, are self-reported: They measure the people who choose to check the "middle class" box out of five options.

So who is actually middle class?

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A new Pew Research Center analysis of government data determined that 50 percent of adults now live in middle-income households. 29 percent live in lower-income households, and 21 percent in upper-income households.

The Pew data confirms that the middle class is actually shrinking, just as individuals self-reported: It's the first time the middle class has been matched in size by the economic tiers above and below it.

Where do you fall? Try the Pew Research Center income calculator

Mobile users can access the income calculator directly on the Pew site.

To hear the full discussion on the current state of the American middle class, with Rakesh Kocchar and Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, use the audio player above.