Pew Research recently asked Americans whether they would identify with being working class:

Most Americans think of themselves as “working class” today: Overall, 60% of U.S. adults say the term describes them well. And the identity is widely adopted by people across all income and educational groups – including half of both Americans who have a bachelor’s degree and those who are upper income.

Working-class identification does vary by education and income: It is highest among Americans without a four-year degree and those who are middle income. But an analysis of data from a Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year finds that seeing oneself as working class also has a heavy political tinge and differs by race and ethnicity.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to identify as working class – even after taking economics, occupation, education and other factors into account. Overall, 67% of Republicans and Republican leaners say “working class” describes them well, as do 55% of Democrats. And wide partisan gaps are evident across many demographic and economic groups.

Working-class identification differs by race and ethnicity. In particular, White adults are more likely than Black adults to identify as working class. About six-in-ten White (62%) and Hispanic adults (59%) overall view themselves as working class, as do roughly half of Black (54%) and Asian adults (52%).

Class boundaries are fluid and depend, in part, on perceptions people have of the categories. When Americans hear “working class,” they might think of particular occupations or particular lifestyles or certain income levels. What is working class as a concept? But because there is no “official” definition – social scientists can vary in how they define and measure social classes in the United States even as they generally agree there are some different groups – people can report their own interpretations.

Because of this fluidity, I wonder if there is data that shows how many of those who said working class describes them well would also say that “middle class” also describes them well. The middle class has been a category to which many Americans have aspired, to have a successful American life where one is not lower class or upper class. In previous surveys, many Americans with varied traits have identified as middle class.

And it would be interesting to compare these findings to those of previous eras (with or without survey data). Are there periods in American history where American adults are more or less likely to identify as certain social classes and what influences these shifts? If there are times when majorities of Americans would identify as middle class, is this a shift and what caused it?