No one wants to hear that they aren't making enough money to be considered "middle class," and those income ceilings are getting more difficult to maintain year after year in San Antonio. A new report has revealed exactly how wide San Antonio's income thresholds are to be considered middle class – and the highest income ceiling is more than $117,000.

According to the 2024 edition of SmartAsset's annual "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America" report, middle class households in San Antonio would need to make between $39,215 and $117,658 a year to be labeled "middle class." Additionally, the city's median middle class household income comes out to $58,829 a year.

The report used a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary." To determine income limits, the report analyzed data from the Census Bureau's 2022 one-year American Community Survey. New to the 2024 report, SmartAsset widened its analysis of income data from 100 to 345 of the largest American cities.

San Antonio's ranked No. 264 out of all 345 U.S. cities with its middle class household income thresholds. The study additionally found that the annual income required to maintain the "middle class" designation is much lower than the national average.

"In a large U.S. city, a middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000," the report says. "The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590."

San Antonio previously ranked No. 77 in SmartAsset's 2023 report, when the city's middle class income threshold ranged between $36,798 and $109,846 a year. The year-over-year difference is just another factor fueling the Alamo City's growing attraction among Texans looking for a more affordable place to live.

However, a majority of the country's biggest cities are seeing the opposite problem. The study's findings shed light on further growing financial stress and affordability struggles throughout the U.S., likely heightened by inflation and cost of living increases.

"As a middle-class American, there is some expectation for living a lifestyle of relative comfort," the report said. "But as costs have increased significantly over the last few years, the middle class is now feeling a squeeze in their finances."

Middle class income thresholds within the top 10 U.S. cities
Two Texas cities earned top-10 spots in the national comparison of U.S. cities with the highest income thresholds to be labeled middle class: The Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Frisco (No. 8), and The Woodlands (No. 10), a suburb outside Houston.

Frisco households need to make between $97,266 and $291,828 a year to be labeled "middle class," the report found. Additionally, the city's median middle class household income comes out to $145,914 a year.

Middle class households in The Woodlands make between $91,548 and $274,670 a year, with the median household income at $137,335, according to the report.

Unsurprisingly, half of the top 10 cities with the highest middle class income ceilings are in California. The report found households in four of the five cities could be bringing in over $300,000 a year in income and still be classified as middle class.

California’s overall high cost-of-living means residents in the No. 1 city of Sunnyvale would need to make between $113,176 and $339,562 a year to be labeled middle class. Sunnyvale overtook Fremont for the top spot in the report in 2024.

The top 10 cities with the highest middle class ceilings are:

• No. 1 – Sunnyvale, California
• No. 2 – Fremont, California
• No. 3 – San Mateo, California
• No. 4 – Santa Clara, California
• No. 5 – Bellevue, Washington
• No. 6 – Highlands Ranch, Colorado
• No. 7 – Carlsbad, California
• No. 8 – Frisco, Texas
• No. 9 – Naperville, Illinois
• No. 10 – The Woodlands, Texas

The full report and its methodology can be found on smartasset.com.