DELINEATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASS
*underclass= people under the socio-economic radar, IOW folk who are homeless/living with friends, living in some kind of shelter for people down on their luck, in DSHS-subsidized housing, on welfare or disability pension or with sporadic unskilled employment- generally struggling on the margins, with pervasive poverty of income as well as in ready access to cultural amenities.
*working class= lower middle class- semi-skilled worker bees in general- tradesman, janitors, mechanics, repairmen, sanitation workers, enlisted military members, aides of various stripes [home health/nursing/teachers' aides], LPNs, assembly-line workers, phone bank workers, sub-GS-09 civil servants, most salespeople- you get the picture. usually below 6-figure income. some of these folk have college degrees but they are not profiting from having them. most are "getting by" and some are fairly comfortable [with quasi-middle-class lifestyles such as the house and 2 cars], albeit with many dual-income families.
*the middle-middle class= working class folk [some with college degrees applicable to their field of work] who did exceptionally well [like successful commissioned salespeople], bachelors-level teachers and professors, social workers, RNs, supervisors of various stripes, semi-professionals such as specialist hospital technicians and journeyman tradesmen, military officers, post-GS-09 civil servants, small business people [mom and pop operation, for example], most professional musicians, and the like. the luckier/exceptionally talented among these folk may have incomes somewhat above $100k.
*upper-middle-class= professional class- people with professional/advanced university degrees/fellowships- doctors, lawyers, engineers of various stripes, especially those with a few decades in [with their student loans all paid off], administrators of various stripes, established [large-firm] business people, midlevel government officials, masters/doctoral-level educators. mostly 6-figure income.
*upperclass/overclass [leisure class]= show business/entertainment, artists with wealthy patrons, trust fund swells, rich families [old money], people who hit the jackpot in general [new money], government and corporate bigwigs - know what i mean? mostly well-educated, with university degrees the social rule rather than the exception. usually 6-figure [and above] income.