Generally people's "class" is defined by how much they make. In the U.S. generally there are classes: poor, middle class, and rich. Some people think there is another class in between poor middle class called working class. United States culture based on the idea that people can move the economic ladder and become middle class or rich if they were born poor. This is idea of going from "rags to riches". Moving the class ladder is not easy though. Higher needed to get a good paying job is .

Class in the United States is more than how much money a person makes though. Education, job a person has, where they live, and culture, all play a role in what class person will be classified as. For example, a with only a high school diploma and a -paying service job may be considered poor or low . While a person with a Ph.D., who owns own company, would be considered high class or . In a way this makes sense because high-paying usually require a high-level education. But for some , class is something you are born with. For , the children of billionaire Donald Trump were born and upper class without having done anything to that status. Gender plays a role too in someone can move up the economic ladder. Women less than men do, so it is harder them to accumulate wealth. Race also plays a in how much people earn and their ability move up the economic ladder. In the United , most families require both the man and woman work in order to support the household.