By Steven Shepard, Hannah Hartig, Andy Cerda and Jocelyn Kiley
Pew Research Center

Most Americans think of themselves as “working class” today: Overall, 60% of U.S. adults say the term describes them well. And the identity is widely adopted by people across all income and educational groups – including half of both Americans who have a bachelor’s degree and those who are upper income.

Working-class identification does vary by education and income: It is highest among Americans without a four-year degree and those who are middle income. But an analysis of data from a Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year finds that seeing oneself as working class also has a heavy political tinge and differs by race and ethnicity.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to identify as working class – even after taking economics, occupation, education and other factors into account. Overall, 67% of Republicans and Republican leaners say “working class” describes them well, as do 55% of Democrats. And wide partisan gaps are evident across many demographic and economic groups.

Working-class identification differs by race and ethnicity. In particular, White adults are more likely than Black adults to identify as working class.

Who Identifies as Working Class? Many Factors Matter

Americans without a college degree and those who are middle income are most likely to identify as working class. But large shares of higher-income and more-educated adults also say they are part of the working class:

  • 66% of adults without bachelor’s degrees say “working class” describes them extremely or very well – but half of those with degrees (50%) say this too.
  • 67% of middle-income Americans say “working class” describes them well – but so do plenty of lower- (57%) and upper-income adults (50%).

Looking at Americans’ self-reported financial stressors, rather than income, those with lower financial stress are less likely than others to describe themselves as working class.

Even so, 50% of Americans who consistently pay their bills in full, have several months of emergency savings and report being able to meet their expenses comfortably say they consider themselves to be working class.

And while those working in blue-collar occupations are particularly likely to identify as working class (77%), so are a majority of those working in other occupations (61%).

Working-class identification has ticked up from a few years ago: In 2024, 54% of Americans said the term described them well, and 60% do so today. The shift is seen across many demographic, socioeconomic and political groups.

Partisanship Is Associated with Working-Class Identification

Majorities of Republicans across every educational, economic and occupational group see themselves as working class. Democrats are generally less likely to do so – especially among higher-income and financially comfortable adults.

While college graduates are less likely to identify as working class than those without a degree, the partisan gap is nearly identical among both those with and without a bachelor’s degree:

  • 72% of Republicans without a bachelor’s degree describe themselves as working class, compared with 61% of Democrats without a degree.
  • 56% of Republican college grads say they’re working class, compared with 44% of Democratic college grads.

Among both low- and middle-income adults, Republicans are about 10 points more likely than Democrats to identify as working class. For instance, 72% of middle-income Republicans identify as working class, compared with 63% of Democrats.

The partisan gap is much wider – 23 points – among upper-income adults, reflecting that upper-income Democrats are much less likely than middle- or lower-income Democrats to see themselves as working class, while upper-income Republicans are about as likely as lower-income Republicans to say “working class” describes them well.

As with income, the partisan gap is widest among those who are the most financially comfortable: 60% of Republicans with few financial stresses say “working class” describes them well, compared with 39% of Democrats who are similarly financially comfortable.

In contrast, there is a relatively modest partisan gap among those under substantial financial stress: 67% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats who have substantial financial strain see themselves as working class.

The partisan gap in self-identification as working class is also evident among both blue-collar workers and workers in other fields. Drawing upon occupational data collected in a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, an analysis found:

  • 82% of Republicans with blue-collar jobs identify as working class, compared with 72% of Democrats in these types of jobs.
  • Among all other workers, 68% of Republicans and 55% of Democrats identify with the term.

How Identification as Working Class Differs Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

Overall, 62% of White adults, 59% of Hispanic adults, 54% of Black adults and 52% of Asian adults identify as working class.

There are wide differences within educational and partisan groups.

Seventy-one percent of White adults without a college degree identify as working class, compared with smaller shares of Hispanic (59%), Asian (59%) and Black adults (53%) without bachelor’s degrees.

In contrast, 61% of Hispanic and 58% of Black adults with college degrees describe themselves as working class. Smaller shares of White (48%) and Asian college graduates (45%) also say this.

As a result, while there are wide differences between the share of college grads and noncollege grads who say they are working class among White and Asian Americans, there is not a substantial educational gap in this identification among Hispanic and Black Americans.

The partisan gap in identification as working class is also particularly pronounced among White adults: 69% of White Republicans and 54% of White Democrats say this description applies to them. That is a larger partisan gap than among Black adults.

This article is courtesy of Pew Research Center.