Where's your $150k coming from? The figure I usually hear cited is $350k, though that's for "household income". Adding to your main point though, it's also worth pointing out that $150k in, say, downtown New York is pretty different from $150k in, say, Cheyenne, Wyoming. But I'd still call both "upper-middle class." Maybe it's near the lower-fuzzy-boundary of "upper middle class", but I don't see how you think it's a classic "middle class" salary. It's certainly not an "upper class" salary.