Analysis: Middle class shrinking faster in Raleigh than most other large U.S. cities

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Raleigh has often been touted for its relatively affordable cost of living for a city of its size, but a recent analysis shows not everything in the area is growing.

According to a report released last week by personal finance website MoneyGeek, the middle class in Raleigh is shrinking faster than in most other large cities in the country.

The site examined income data for almost 600 cities from the United States Census American Community Survey and the Pew Research Center between 2017 and 2022. In that time period, MoneyGeek’s analysis showed Raleigh’s middle class shrunk by 3.2%, dropping to 43.1% of all households in the city in 2022.

That put Raleigh at No. 7 for the biggest difference in that time period among large cities across the country. With a population of over 477,000 people in 2022, Raleigh was also the largest city in the top 10.

But the state capital wasn’t the only North Carolina city on the list. Asheville and Cary both saw bigger declines in their number of middle-income households, at 4% and 3.9%, respectively. Greensboro’s middle class shrunk by 2% and Concord’s by 1.1% in that time period. The other North Carolina cities on the list — High Point, Greenville, Charlotte and Gastonia — all had decline rates of less than 1%.

Top 10 large U.S. cities where the middle class is shrinking the most

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