Compared to when you were a child, do you think it’s harder or easier in the United States today for the average person to earn a middle-class income, or is it about the same?

Notes

Lower-income adults live in households earning less than $35,000/year; middle-income adults' household earnings are $35,000-$99,999/year; higher-income adults' household earnings are $100,000-$499,999/year; and top 1% income adults' household earnings are at least $500,000/year.

Source: NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll: "Life Experiences and Income Inequality in the United States." The survey of 1,885 adults was conducted July 17-Aug. 18. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points. "Don't know/refused" answers not shown.

Credit: Alyson Hurt/NPR