美国中等收入者正感受到压力。皮尤研究中心的一项新分析考察了美国人的财务状况，这一话题在中期选举季节尤为突出，因为可负担性已成为选票上的重要议题。美国的中等收入者——即在考虑家庭规模和所在地区生活成本后，年收入在50,700美元至152,000美元之间的人——越来越没有足够的储蓄来应对紧急情况。略超过一半的中等收入美国人表示，他们没有足以覆盖三个月开支的应急储蓄金，以防紧急情况发生。
America's middle earners are feeling the squeeze. A new analysis from the Pew Research Center examines how Americans' finances are faring, an especially salient topic in a midterm season where affordability is very much on the ballot. America's middle earners — those who make between $50,700 and $152,000 after adjusting for their family sizes and the cost of living in their areas — increasingly don't have enough saved for an emergency. Just over half of middle-income Americans say they don't have rainy-day funds that would cover expenses for three months in the event of an emergency.
与此同时，47%的中等收入者——以及仅24%的低收入者——报告称在过去一年里能够存钱。在所有收入层级中，多数受访者表示他们已经削减了在外出就餐或流媒体服务等非必需品上的支出。这些应急储蓄的减少和牺牲可能是由于成本上升所致，而成本上升往往对低收入者的钱包造成尤为严重的冲击。情况可能还在恶化；通胀正朝着错误的方向发展。
Meanwhile, 47% of middle-income earners — and a measly 24% of lower-income earners — reported being able to save money in the past year. Across all income tiers, the majority of respondents said they had cut back spending on extras like eating out or streaming services. Those dwindling emergency funds and sacrifices might be due to rising costs, which often take a particularly large bite out of lower-earners' wallets. It could be getting worse; inflation is moving in the wrong direction.
9月份，消费者价格指数通胀率从3.4%上升至3.7%，略高于3.6%的预测值。此外，通胀调整后的工资已连续六个月下降。如今的经济对收入阶梯底层的人来说仍然更加艰难。51%的低收入受访者表示，他们在2026年的调查中能够全额支付所有账单，而这一比例在2020年为56%。对于中等收入受访者，这一比例从2020年的81%下降至2026年的78%，而高收入受访者的比例则保持稳定，为93%。
In September, the consumer price index inflation rate rose from 3.4% to 3.7%, just above the 3.6% forecast. Plus, inflation-adjusted wages have been falling for six months. Today's economy is still more difficult for those at the bottom of the earnings ladder. Fifty-one percent of lower-income respondents said they can pay all of their bills in full in the 2026 survey, down from 56% in 2020. For middle-income respondents, the share dropped from 81% in 2020 to 78% in 2026, while the share of upper-income respondents held steady at 93%.
皮尤还发现，71%的低收入美国成年人在过去一年里至少在一种基本必需品方面遇到了困难，例如负担医疗费用或支付房租或按揭贷款，而中等收入美国人这一比例为39%，高收入美国人则为13%。
Pew also found 71% of lower-income US adults struggled with at least one kind of basic necessity, like affording medical care or paying their rent or mortgage, in the past year, compared with 39% of middle-income and 13% of upper-income Americans.
但最新调查表明，中等收入群体正日益与低收入群体趋同，这对于中产阶级的健康状况而言是一个暗淡的信号。城市研究所的一份独立报告发现，尽管低收入租房者最有可能报告支付房租有困难，但中等收入租房者报告支付艰难的情况也越来越多。同样，中等收入群体的消费者信心也从原本与高收入群体相似，转变为更接近低收入群体——这表明中产阶级正陷入更艰难的经济时期。
But the latest survey marks another sign that middle-income earners are increasingly aligning with their lower-earning peers, a dour sign for the health of the middle class. A separate report from the Urban Institute found that, even as lower-income renters were the most likely to report issues paying the rent, middle-income renters were increasingly likely to report struggling to pay. Similarly, middle-income earners' consumer sentiment has switched from mirroring their higher-earning peers to more closely aligning with lower earners — another sign that the middle class is falling on harder economic times.
美国劳工联合会-产业工会联合会（AFL-CIO）主席莉兹·舒勒表示：“劳动人民如履薄冰，他们比以往任何时候都工作得更久、更辛苦，得到的钱却更少。他们每次加满油箱都很愤怒。他们对今年冬天的取暖账单会是什么样感到恐惧。”
"Working people are living on the edge, working longer and harder than ever for less money," said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. "They're angry every time they fill the tank. They're terrified of what their heating bills will look like this winter."