Pew Research Center has released new data on the share of Americans who view themselves as “working class.” According to the report, some 60 percent of U.S. adults say the term describes them well, but there are key differences in this self-identification based on race, education level, and political affiliation.
Overall, White adults (62 percent) are the most likely group to agree that working class describes them well, followed by Hispanic adults (59 percent), Black adults (54 percent), and Asian adults (52 percent). Near-identical shares of White (29 percent), Hispanic (28 percent), and Black (28 percent) adults say the term describes them extremely well.
Among adults without a college degree, Black respondents (53 percent) were the least likely racial group to say they are working class. In comparison, more than 70 percent of White adults without a college education identify as working class, as well as nearly 60 percent of Hispanic and Asian adults without a college degree. Notably, larger shares of Black (58 percent) and Hispanic adults (61 percent) with college degrees agree they are working class, while smaller shares of college-educated White (48 percent) and Asian adults (45 percent) say the same.
The data also reveals a partisan gap in working class-identification among White adults, with 69 percent of White Republicans and 54 percent of White Democrats agreeing the term describes them well. Among Hispanic adults, Republicans (64 percent) are more likely to identify with the term than Democrats (58 percent). A similar pattern was found among Asian adults, with 55 percent of Republicans and 49 percent of Democrats agreeing they are working class.
However, there is practically no partisan gap in working class-identification among Black adults. Unlike other racial groups, a slightly larger share of Black Democrats (54 percent) identify as working class than the share of Black Republicans (53 percent).
