Income Is a Stronger Predictor of Subjective Social Class in More Economically Unequal Places

Abstract

In this research, we examine how the lay conceptualization of subjective social class varies based on economic contexts. We argue that income should be a more central component of subjective social class in areas with higher income inequality. To address the issue of low power in existing research, we combined local-level income inequality indicators with large-scale repeated cross-sectional data, enabling the most reliable test to date on how the relationship between income and subjective social class is moderated by inequality. We used nationally representative datasets from the United States and South Korea (encompassing 25,000+ participants from 1,246 regional-year units). In both cultural contexts, our multilevel models revealed that income is a stronger predictor of subjective social class in regions with higher levels of income inequality. This work advances the theoretical and empirical understanding of how income and income inequality interact to shape the perception of one’s position in the social hierarchy.