midincome

Midincome is a relative socio-economic category used to describe households or individuals whose income sits in the middle portion of the income distribution within a country or region. It is not a fixed threshold and varies across time and place. In practice, midincome is often defined by percentiles (for example the middle two quintiles) or by comparison to the median income.

Measurements commonly include median household income and mean income, along with income percentiles such as the 25th to 75th percentile range. Some analyses adjust for cost of living or household size to enable cross-country comparisons, using purchasing power parity or equivalence scales.

Midincome households typically have enough earnings to cover essential expenses and some discretionary spending, but may have limited savings or assets relative to higher-income groups. They can be especially sensitive to economic shocks, inflation, housing costs, or debt, making them a focus of taxation and social-protection policies.

In international contexts, middle-income is also used to describe countries with gross national income per capita within defined ranges, such as lower-middle- and upper-middle-income categories. Thresholds are updated periodically and differ by institution, but the general idea remains: midincome denotes the space between poverty and high income.

Critiques note that the label can conceal substantial heterogeneity within the midincome group and may overlook regional cost-of-living differences, wealth, and debt. As a result, analyses using midincome should specify definitions and context to avoid misinterpretation.