Michigan tops nation in shrinking middle class, study shows

The middle class in the United States has been shrinking since 2000, and nowhere is the trend more evident than Michigan, according to a study released this week by the Pew Research Center.

What makes the Michigan numbers especially distressing: In three-quarters of U.S. metro areas analyzed, the shrinking middle class was partially offset by a rise in affluent households, a trend that didn't occur in most of Michigan.

Adjusted for household size and inflation, Michigan's median household income declined 17 percent between 1999 and 2014 — from a median of $75,370 in 1999 to $62,608 in 2014 — the biggest drop among the 50 states and District of Columbia, the Pew study found.