如何衡量你的中产阶级水平？

译者 jiangyh

Assessing Your Middle-Class Status
Despite the so-called recovery, many families continue to struggle, with income and other living standards slipping below thresholds that typically represent middle-class quality of life. We've assembled a variety of metrics to help determine whether you're getting ahead, holding steady, or slipping further than most.

　　尽管目前的经济状况正在逐步复苏，但众多家庭仍在萧条之中继续挣扎，包括收入在内的各项生活指标都下滑到低于体现中产阶级生活品质的典型阈值。本文综合了各项统计数据，以帮助您判断您的中产阶级水平，究竟是走在前头、保持稳定还是需要奋力追赶。

Income
For the 50 percent of families in the middle of the scale, household income ranges from $51,000 to $123,000 for a typical four-person, two-parent family. The median is about $81,000. Those numbers are from 2008, and have probably fallen 5 to 7 percent since then, on account of the recession. Median income for a single-parent, two-child family is about $25,000.

家庭收入

　　在占据美国半壁江山的中产阶级家庭中，一个典型水平的四口双亲之家，其家庭收入应介于5.1万美元至12.3万美元之间，其平均值是8.1万美元。以上数据来源于2008年，考虑到经济衰退因素，目前的数字大约降低了5%至7%（平均值约为7.5万美元）。对于拥有两个孩子的单亲家庭来说，家庭收入约为2.5万美元。

Housing Costs
For two-parent families, the typical home is worth about $231,000, accounting for $17,600 in mortgage payments and other costs per year. Housing costs have risen by more than twice as much as income since 1990, a trend that may finally be reversing thanks to the housing bust.

住房费用

　　对典型的双亲家庭来说，典型的房产约为23.1万美元，其他年费用（包括贷款、保险、地税等）为1.76万美元。自1990年以来，住房成本增长了两倍以上，其上升趋势可能因房地产泡沫的破裂而最终逆转。

Home Size
The housing bubble was one factor that boosted housing costs, but the typical family also lives in a much bigger home. The median size of a new, single-family home jumped by 40 percent between 1979 and 2007, to about 2,300 square feet. That may now be declining, as families downsize and some get booted from homes they can't afford.

住房面积

　　尽管房市泡沫的不断膨胀导致了住房成本的大幅提升，但典型中产家庭的住房面积也在不断扩大。从1979年到2007年间，单一家庭的平均住房面积增长了四成，目前达到了2300平方英尺（约折合214平方米）。考虑到家庭规模的缩小，部分家庭无法负担更大的住房，未来的这一数字可能有所缩减。

Medical Expenses
You've probably heard — healthcare costs are going through the roof. A study by the middle-class task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden says the median two-parent family spends $5,100 per year on health insurance and non-covered expenses—assuming an employer provides health insurance. Healthcare costs have risen far more than any other aspect of the family budget since 1990, with no end in sight.

医疗费用

　　这一说法你或许有所耳闻——医疗成本价格已一飞冲天。由美国副总统乔·拜登指导的中产阶级特别工作小组发布的研究报告表明，双亲家庭每年在健康保险等医疗项目上支出的平均费用是5100美元。自1990年来，中产家庭医疗保健费用的上涨远超其他家庭预算，并且没有终止的迹象。

Cars
They provide mobility and represent freedom, one reason the typical family spends about $12,400 per year on two medium-sized sedans or the equivalent, with a new-car value of $45,000. The recession may have dampened our love of the road, however: Americans are driving less and car sales are off about 40 percent.

车辆支出

　　车辆既为家庭提供出行便利，也是自由的情感象征。对于拥有两辆价值4.5万美元的中型轿车（或其他等值车辆）的中产阶级家庭来说，每年的车辆支出约为1.24万美元（不包括汽油、保险等费用）。然而，经济衰退一定程度上减弱了人们对道路的热爱——现在的美国人比以前少开车，汽车销售量也因此下降了约40%。

College Savings
The typical family puts aside $4,100 for college expenses for two kids, estimated to cover about 75 percent of expenses at a state university. Financial aid helps with the rest. But if possible, toss more into the college fund: As states face budget crunches, tuition and fees are going up.

大学存款

　　拥有两个孩子的典型中产家庭每年储蓄4100美元的教育存款，用于支付孩子就读州立大学时约75%的费用，其余25%可依靠助学贷款垫付。如果可能的话，中产家庭不妨在大学基金中投入更多存款，因为目前美国国家预算面临短缺，各项学杂费也随之上涨。

Vacations
One week at the beach or another destination is standard, at a cost of $3,000 or so for four. More affluent families can afford two weeks, at a typical cost of $6,100.

度假

　　四人中产之家若选择一周的海滩度假或其他地点休假，费用约为3000美元。经济状况较好的家庭可负担两周的度假项目，费用约在6100美元。

Retirement Savings
A median-income family that saved 3.2 percent of its income—roughly equivalent to the national saving rate—would sock away nearly $2,600 per year for retirement. Of course many families don't hit even that modest goal, and stock-market losses over the last several years have further shrunk the national nest egg.

退休计划

　　中等收入的中产家庭将收入的3.2%纳入退休计划，每年可存款近2600美元，这个比例与国民储蓄率大体相当。当然，随着近年来股市的震荡，许多家庭都未能达到这一适度的比例，账户里的储蓄金数额也有所减少。

Everyday Spending
Clothes, food, utilities, entertainment and other living expenses amount to $14,200 a year for a median-income family. Not surprisingly, this is one set expenses many families are trying to reduce, by buying more discount brands, using less or doing without.

日常支出

　　中等收入的中产家庭每年的日常费用为1.42万美元，包括衣物、食品、水电气、娱乐和其他生活成本。不足为奇的是，越来越多的家庭都在精打细算节省开支，例如购买折扣商品、少用或者不买。

Number of Earners
In 76 percent of two-parent families, both parents work. The higher the household income, the more likely it is that both parents are contributing.

工作人数

　　在中产阶级双亲家庭中，有76%的父母都在工作。家庭收入越高，父母是双职工的可能性也越高。

Hours Worked

Few parents will be surprised to hear that Moms and Dads are working more than they used to. The total number of hours worked in a two-parent family is 3,747 per year, up 5 percent since 1990. The increased hours add up to more than four 40-hour weeks of additional work per family.

工作时间

　　现在家长们的工作时间比过去要长，很少有父母会对此感到惊讶。与1990年相比，双亲家庭目前每年的工时高达3747小时，上涨了5%，上涨的部分累计达到四个工作周/年（以每周40小时计算）。

Education
The typical household head has a high school degree plus about two years of college education, up by more than a full year of college since 1990. Good thing—education is a key factor in lifetime earnings, and high school dropouts face a dim future by nearly every measure.

教育水平

　　典型中产阶级家庭的教育水准是高中学历和大专（两年制）以上学历，与1990年相比增加了一个学年。值得注意的是，教育水平是终生收入的关键因素；不论从何种意义上来说，辍学的高中生未来肯定是前途黯淡。

Free Time
What's your top priority? In a 2008 poll by the Pew Research Center, it wasn't healthy kids, a strong marriage or a great career; 68 percent of respondents said it was free time. (And just 12 percent said it was being wealthy.)

自由支配时间

　　什么东西对你最重要？一项由皮尤调查中心在2008年的投票结果显示，首要的并不是健康的孩子、完美的婚姻或杰出的事业，68%的受访者认为生活中最重要的是自由支配的时间。只有12%的人选择了财富。

Household Net Worth
The typical household has a net worth of about $84,000, according to the Federal Reserve. That's down 30 percent since 2007, thanks to losses in stock portfolios and home values.

家庭资产净值

　　美国联邦储备局的资料显示，典型中产家庭拥有8.4万美元的净资产，与2007年相比下跌了30%。这主要是由于股票投资和住房价值上的损失。

Debt
About 18 percent of disposable income, on average, goes toward mortgage payments, auto loans, credit cards and other forms of household debt. That's a bit higher than it was in the '70s and '80s. But since debt payments peaked at the beginning of 2008, at 18.9 percent of income, they've been steadily falling.

家庭债务

　　中产阶级家庭约有18%的可支配收入用于偿付房贷、车贷、信用卡和其他形式的家庭债务，这一比例比70年代和80年代略高。由于家庭债务在2008年达到最高（收入的18.9%），因此这一数据将会稳步下降。