12 Things the Middle Class Can’t Afford Anymore

In a world of rising prices, it is getting more difficult to get ahead financially. In fact, for millions of people, being a member of the middle class just isn't what it used to be.

Here are some items the middle class can no longer afford, at least not without a substantial financial sacrifice.

The average student attending an in-state public college who lives on campus can expect to pay $38,270 per year — or $153,080 over the course of a four-year degree — to attend the school, according to the Education Data Initiative.

Getting a degree at a private or out-of-state college will cost even more. Such expenses often require students to take out loans, making it tough to move beyond living paycheck to paycheck after they start working.

A Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll found that 4 in 10 Americans report having medical or dental bills that have become debt on a credit card, gone to collections, or are owed to other lenders. Additionally, 48% are anxious about meeting their insurance premium.

The same KFF survey found that as of March 2024, 25% of U.S. adults said they put off seeking medical care over the previous 12 months because they were worried about the cost of the care itself.

Even more Americans delay dental care due to the expense. In 2022, 41% of Americans reported that they had postponed dental care during the previous 12 months because they weren't sure they could afford it, according to KFF.

Financial experts generally urge workers to save at least three months' worth of expenses so they will have the cash to spend on emergencies.

However, a 2023 report from LendingTree found that 58% of Americans do not have an emergency fund. In fact, 49% of Americans don't have enough cash on hand to cover a $1,000 emergency.

And it's not as if people are naïve about the possibility of an emergency arising. 93% of Americans say they've had to cope with at least one financial crisis in their adult lives.

Living without debt has become the exception rather than the norm. As of mid-2025, credit-reporting agency Experian found that the average American debt reached $104,755. That really puts into perspective how living debt-free is a luxury very few have now. 

According to the USDA, food prices have increased by 23.6% between 2020 and 2024. As a result, Americans have cut back on buying certain types of groceries, specifically snack foods and drinks, according to a survey from Swiftly.

While homeownership rates are higher post-COVID-19 than pre-pandemic, middle-income buyers still struggle to find affordable homes.

In June 2023, the National Association of Realtors reported that the supply of affordable homes for those with middle incomes was about 320,000 properties short of meeting the demand.

During 2023, four out of five Americans planned to go to at least one concert, according to an Insuranks survey.

However, concert ticket prices are rising above what middle-class concertgoers can afford, with 46% of concertgoers saying they would consider getting another job to pay for a pricey ticket.

Federal law does not require companies to offer paid sick leave. As a result, 89% of American employees say they've gone to work while sick rather than miss a day in the last year, according to a BambooHR survey.

Nearly half (46%) of those employees said they were sick enough that they likely shouldn't have gone to work at all during that time.

Over the last few years, a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation has put a damper on Americans' ability to travel.

Although 58% of U.S. residents had been squirreling money into their travel funds, 72% admitted they had to use at least some of their travel savings to pay for other expenses, according to a 2022 Outdoorsy survey.

Millions of Americans continue to dream that they might retire early. But for many people in the middle class, retirement at any point now feels like an unachievable dream.

In a 2023 survey by Axios and Ipsos, 36% of people 55 and older didn't think they will be able to retire at the age they planned to. 

On average, Americans want 2.1 children, a number that hasn't changed in several decades, according to the Carolina Population Center. Yet, birth rates have fallen quite a bit.

While there's no conclusive data showing why birth rates are down, research from the population center suggests that the rising cost of living might have something to do with it.

In addition, it costs an average of $233,610 to raise a child to age 17, according to the Institute for Family Studies.

Unfortunately, the middle class no longer carries the same level of financial security as it did a few decades ago.

Hopefully, inflation will continue to subside this year, making goods more affordable for middle-class Americans. Perhaps you can even build up your savings for the future.