Social Class (Self-Identification) 1956-2016
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| '56 | '58 | '60 | '62 | '64 | '66 | '68 | '70 | '72 | '74 | '76 | '78 | '80 | '82 | '84 | '86 | '88 | '90 | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Working | 52 (882) |
52 (920) |
- | ** | - | 47 (591) |
44 (659) |
44 (635) |
44 (1157) |
43 (1018) |
43 (1173) |
42 (923) |
41 (620) |
42 (573) |
42 (904) |
- | 42 (823) |
45 (872) |
42 (1013) |
42 (727) |
** | ** | 39 (675) |
** | 38 (442) |
** | 41 (872) |
** | 36 (2047) |
** | 38 (587) |
| Working, NA Avg. or Upper | 2 (38) |
1 (21) |
67 (1247) |
** | 59 (880) |
2 (20) |
2 (23) |
2 (22) |
1 (18) |
1 (34) |
2 (42) |
1 (29) |
1 (15) |
2 (23) |
1 (15) |
51 (1056) |
2 (44) |
1 (13) |
2 (42) |
1 (20) |
** | ** | 1 (12) |
** | 1 (7) |
** | 1 (13) |
** | 1 (73) |
** | 1 (13) |
| Upper Working | 9 (146) |
7 (129) |
- | ** | - | 10 (130) |
9 (142) |
9 (124) |
10 (261) |
11 (255) |
9 (247) |
10 (211) |
10 (148) |
10 (134) |
9 (198) |
- | 9 (166) |
8 (162) |
8 (195) |
8 (133) |
** | ** | 8 (145) |
** | 8 (94) |
** | 10 (214) |
** | 8 (430) |
** | 8 (121) |
| Average Middle | 30 (504) |
30 (523) |
- | ** | - | 30 (380) |
33 (493) |
35 (505) |
35 (910) |
34 (821) |
34 (936) |
36 (787) |
37 (553) |
36 (487) |
38 (832) |
- | 35 (669) |
36 (684) |
36 (870) |
37 (645) |
** | ** | 38 (652) |
** | 37 (427) |
** | 39 (833) |
** | 42 (2369) |
** | 38 (586) |
| Middle, NA Avg. or Upper | 0 (7) |
1 (9) |
33 (614) |
** | 41 (619) |
2 (24) |
1 (13) |
1 (19) |
1 (23) |
1 (26) |
2 (43) |
1 (24) |
1 (15) |
1 (9) |
1 (15) |
49 (1025) |
2 (30) |
1 (15) |
1 (27) |
1 (11) |
** | ** | 1 (15) |
** | 1 (8) |
** | 0 (9) |
** | 1 (80) |
** | 1 (22) |
| Upper Middle | 7 (117) |
9 (153) |
- | ** | - | 8 (102) |
11 (165) |
10 (147) |
9 (245) |
10 (230) |
11 (306) |
11 (232) |
10 (150) |
9 (128) |
10 (209) |
- | 11 (206) |
9 (175) |
10 (247) |
12 (205) |
** | ** | 13 (222) |
** | 15 (171) |
** | 10 (208) |
** | 12 (688) |
** | 14 (220) |
| N | 1694 | 1755 | 1861 | 0 | 1499 | 1247 | 1495 | 1452 | 2614 | 2384 | 2747 | 2206 | 1501 | 1354 | 2173 | 2081 | 1938 | 1921 | 2394 | 1741 | 0 | 0 | 1721 | 0 | 1149 | 0 | 2149 | 0 | 5688 | 0 | 1550 |
Percentage Within Study Year
Table 1A.8.
Source: VCF0148A in the ANES Cumulative Data File dataset,
weighted with VCF0009z
Link to see data by mode (2012, 2016)
Question Text:
"Most people say they belong either to the middle class or the working class. Do you ever think of yourself as belonging in one of these classes?"
(IF YES:) "Which one?" /
(IF NO:) "Well, if you had to make a choice, would you call yourself middle class or working class?"
(IF MIDDLE CLASS/WORKING CLASS:) "Would you say that you are about average middle/working class or that you are in the upper part of the middle/working class?"
Note:
In 1960,1964 and 1986, the final question was not asked and all responses in these 3 years have been coded middle or working class 'NA average or upper.'
2012 and 2016 data are for the combined (face-to-face and internet) sample.