What is considered lower, middle, and upper class in Mexico?

Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) – The issue of what social class one belongs to in Mexico is often a matter of debate among those who discuss it, since there are no established parameters that define the social class in Mexico. Although the National Institute of Statistics and Geography ( INEGI) identified some socioeconomic characteristics of each level.

One of the factors to consider is the total household income, although it is not the only one. Aspects such as access to durable goods (such as electrical appliances and cell phones), type of employment of its members, and distribution of expenses must also be taken into account.

In its study Quantifying the Middle Class, INEGI pointed out that the average income per household according to social class is $11,343 pesos ($615 USD) for low class, $22,297 pesos ($1,200 USD) in the middle class, and $77,795 pesos ($4,200 USD) per month for the upper class. This figure changes slightly according to the area of ​​residence.

A lower-class family earns up to 12,977 pesos ($700 USD) monthly, a middle-class family 23,451 pesos ($1,275), and an upper-class family 77,795 pesos ($4,200 USD) in an urban area. In a rural area, the income of the lower and middle classes are respectively 9,313 pesos ($500 USD) and 18,569 pesos ($1,000 USD) approximately.

In its investigation, INEGI identified that in general a middle-class household has four members, has at least one computer, spends around 4,400 pesos ($240 USD) per quarter on food and beverages outside the home, and some have a credit card, as well as a member inserted in the formal labor market and headed by someone who has at least a higher secondary education and whose marital status is married.

The INEGI established a comparison of expenses in its study Quantifying the Middle Class 2010-2020, according to which, if you are from the middle class, it is likely that you allocate $931 pesos ($50 USD) monthly in consumption of food, beverages and tobacco outside the home; $161 pesos ($9 USD) in maintenance, remodeling, and expansion of the house; $121 pesos ($6.50 USD) in medical services and $904 pesos ($50 USD) in gasoline.

On the other hand, if you are from the middle class, it is likely that you allocate $3,941 pesos ($215 USD) per month in consumption of food, beverages, and tobacco outside the home; $410 pesos ($23 USD) in maintenance, remodeling, and expansion of the house; $652 pesos ($35 USD) in medical services and $2,347 pesos ($125 USD) in gasoline.

If you are from the middle class, it is also possible that you spend an approximate amount of $93 pesos ($5 USD) on personal care, $410 pesos ($23 USD) on clothing and footwear; $1,068 pesos ($60 USD) on education, culture and recreation and $426 pesos ($25 USD) in credit card payments.

While if you are from the upper class, it is possible that you allocate at least $373 pesos ($20 USD) in personal care, $1,333 pesos ($70 USD) in clothing and footwear; $7,263 pesos ($395 USD) in education, culture, and recreation and $8,011 pesos ($435 USD) in credit card payments.

Until 2020 in Mexico, the states with the highest percentage of middle-class households were CDMX, Colima, Jalisco, Baja California, Sonora, and Baja California Sur, to name a few. While the states with the highest percentage of upper-class households were CDMX, Nuevo León, Colima, Querétaro, Yucatán, and Baja California.

These figures represent the average, so they are only a guide to identify the social class as defined by INEGI.

Until 2020, there were 47,201,616 middle-class people and 1,23,04 upper-class people. In terms of the number of households, the figures are respectively 15,096,091 and 429,701. That leaves nearly 80,000 Mexicans considered living in poverty.

$1.00 USD = $18.44 Pesos at the time this article was written.