• Kentucky ranks as the 46th state for the income needed to be considered middle class.
• A Kentucky household is defined as middle class with an income between $43,017 and $129,052.
• In Louisville, the middle-class income range is from $44,834 to $134,502.
• The study is based on 2024 U.S. Census data and methodology from the Pew Research Center.

Would you be considered middle class in Kentucky?

As prices and the cost of living continue to rise, it can be difficult to define what it means to be middle class and whether that lifestyle is still attainable in 2026.

The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning between two-thirds and two times the median income. That range, however, varies by state, depending on local economic conditions such as housing affordability and the job market.

Using 2024 U.S. Census data and Pew Research methodology, SmartAsset analyzed all 50 states and the 100 largest U.S. cities to determine the income range needed to qualify as middle class.

Here’s what it means to be middle class in Kentucky, according to the study.

What does it take to be middle-class in Kentucky?

Kentucky ranks 46th among the states for the income needed to maintain a middle-class status, according to the analysis. The state’s median household income is $64,526, with the middle-class income range spanning from a lower bound of $43,017 to an upper bound of $129,052.

How much money is needed to be middle-class in Louisville and Lexington?

Among the 100 cities included in the study, Lexington ranked 69th and Louisville ranked 71st for the income needed to maintain middle-class standing.

In Lexington, the median household income is $69,989, with the middle-class income range extending from a lower bound of $46,659 to an upper bound of $139,978. In Louisville, the median household income is $67,251, with a middle-class income range of $44,834 to $134,502.

See states with highest incomes needed to maintain middle-class status

According to SmartAsset, the following states require the highest median household incomes to maintain middle-class status.

• 1. Massachusetts – $104,828
• 2. New Jersey – $104,294
• 3. Maryland – $102,905
• 4. Hawaii – $100,745
• 5. California – $100,149
• 6. New Hampshire – $99,782
• 7. Washington – $99,389
• 8. Colorado – $97,113
• 9. Utah – $96,658
• 10. Connecticut – $96,049

Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for Smalling Substation near Rayville, La., Friday, Jun 27, 2025. The substation will serve the Meta Richland Parish Data Center, which is now under construction.

Maryland voters heading to the polls for the state’s June 23 primary election have not been through the same congressional redistricting back-and-forth faced by their neighbors in Virginia.

But their path to Election Day has not been entirely smooth.

The Maryland State Board of Elections announced in May that some mail-in voters received ballots for the wrong political party. The fix involved mailing nearly a half million corrected ballots.

As for Maryland’s own redistricting push, the clock for changes this election cycle ran out in April as state Senate president and Democrat Bill Ferguson resisted the changes, saying new maps could be redrawn in a way that hurts the party.

Democrats already dominate Maryland’s congressional delegation. Of the state’s eight U.S. House members, Rep. Andy Harris is the lone Republican.

Harris, who represents the Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore County, was first elected to Congress in 2010.

He faces one GOP challenger, Chris Bruneau, in the primary. The four Democrats vying for the chance to flip Maryland’s 1st District in November are Victor Allen Guidice, Dan Schwartz, George Walish and Randi White.

Dates at a glance

• In-person early voting: Thursday, June 11 through Friday, June 18. Early voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Registering to vote: The deadline to register and select a party affiliation online or by mail was June 2, but Maryland has same-day voter registration at early voting centers and polling places.
• Deadline to request a mail-in ballot: Tuesday, June 16 (if you want your ballot mailed to you, or Friday, June 19 (if you prefer to download and print your ballot)
• Election Day: Tuesday, June 23. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Who can vote?

The answer: Anyone who is registered. However, those who take advantage of Maryland’s same-day voter registration or are not affiliated with a political party will see very little on their ballots.

Voters who are registered as Democrats or Republicans will be given ballots for their respective party primaries.

Unaffiliated voters in Maryland can generally vote only for candidates running for nonpartisan offices such as the State Board of Education.

The deadline to select or change party affiliation for the primary was June 2, but voters can do so once advanced voter registration reopens after June 23.

Registering and updating voter registration

As noted above, the deadline to register online and by mail has passed, but new voters who bring one of the required documents can register and vote on the same day at any early voting center in their home county, or on Election Day at a polling place assigned to their home address.

The proof-of-residency document can be an MVA-issued license, ID card or change of address card. Also accepted are a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill or another government document with your name and home address.

Voting in-person

Early voting centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Thursday, June 11 through Friday, June 18. Voters can head to any voting center in their home county.

Tuesday, June 23 is Election Day. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. These voters must go to their assigned polling place. The Maryland Board of Elections has a lookup tool.

Voting by mail

If in-person voting is inconvenient or impossible, Maryland voters can ask that their ballots be mailed to them or request a download.

Mailed ballots come with postage-paid envelopes. Voters who download their ballots must provide their own envelopes and stamps.

The last day to request a mailed ballot is June 16. Downloaded ballot requests must be in by Friday, June 19.

In both cases, the deadline to fill out and send a mail-in ballot is 8 p.m. on June 23.

Ballots can be dropped off at ballot drop boxes (here’s the list of locations), your local elections board, early voting centers or Election Day polling places.

They can also be dropped in the mail, of course, but you must ensure the ballot is postmarked by 8 p.m. on June 23.

There are no guarantees a ballot dropped in a mailbox on Election Day will be postmarked that day, and the Maryland Board of Elections warns ballots postmarked after the deadline will not be counted.

What is — and is not — on the June 23 ballot?

Voters in the primary will consider candidates for U.S. House races, and for several state and local races, which are listed in full here.

What Maryland voters won’t see on the ballot are U.S. Senate candidates. Chris Van Hollen’s seat will be up for grabs in 2028. Angela Alsobrooks’ term ends in 2030.

Federal Offices

• Representatives in Congress

State Offices

• Governor and Lt. Governor
• Comptroller
• Attorney General
• State Senators
• House of Delegates
• Judge of the Circuit Court

Local Offices

• County Executive
• County Council / Commissioner
• County Treasurers
• State’s Attorney
• Clerk of the Circuit Courts
• Register of Wills
• Judges of the Orphan’s Court
• Sheriff
• Board of Education seats in 22 out of the 23 Maryland counties (Anne Arundel is the exception) and the city of Baltimore.

Party Offices

• Democratic Central Committee Members
• Republican Central Committee Members

Primary races to watch

Maryland’s 5th congressional district

For the first time in almost five decades, Rep. Steny Hoyer is not on the primary ballot. The longest serving member of Maryland’s congressional delegation — and longest serving U.S. House member — announced in January that he would retire at the end of his term.

To say the seat has generated a lot of interest would be an understatement.

According to the Maryland State Board of Elections, three Republicans are running for their party’s nomination.

Democrats will see 24 candidates on the ballot. Hoyer has thrown his support behind Maryland Del. Adrian Boafo, who once served as his campaign manager.

Another candidate is Rushern Baker III, a former Maryland delegate and Prince George’s County Executive who is making a House bid after unsuccessful runs for governor in 2018 and 2022.

Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer suing to block President Donald Trump’s 1.8 billion Jan. 6 fund, is making his second House bid. He ran in 2024 in Maryland’s 3rd district and was defeated in the primary by Rep. Sarah Elfreth.

Prince George’s County Council member Wala Blegay is also running for the seat.

Maryland’s 6th congressional district

Rep. April McClain Delaney, seeking reelection, faces seven primary challengers. One of them is her predecessor, David Trone, who served three terms in Congress before his unsuccessful Senate bid in 2024. Trone endorsed and campaigned for McClain Delaney during her first House bid that year.

The race is also notable for the candidates’ personal wealth. Trone is the founder of Total Wine & More. McClain Delaney’s husband John Delaney, who represented the 6th district before Trone, founded Forbright Bank. Both candidates spent millions of their own money in previous campaigns for office.

Maryland governor

Incumbent Wes Moore is expected to brush off a challenge from fellow Democrat Eric Felber. Meanwhile, nine Republicans are competing to face Moore in November.

The GOP candidates leading the field in campaign contributions and expenditures are Ed Hale, a Baltimore business owner who switched parties last year, and Dan Cox, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Cox is angling for a rematch with Moore. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022.

Prince George’s, Montgomery County executives

Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy is defending the seat she won in the 2025 special election held after her predecessor, Angela Alsobrooks, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024.

Braveboy’s challengers in the Democratic primary are Billy W. Bridges, Marcellus Crews, Charnell D. Ferguson and Gregory Holmes. There is no Republican candidate.

And no matter the outcome of the 2026 primary and general elections, Montgomery County will have a new county executive. Term limits barred Marc Elrich from running for a third four-year term. But he’s not stepping away from local politics. Elrich is running for an at-large seat on the county council.

The Democrats running for the office are Mithun Banerjee, Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass, Peter James and Will Jawando. The Republican candidates are Shelly Skolnick and Esther Wells.

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