As racial barriers fall and new opportunities arise, growing black middle and upper middle classes have emerged. After adjusting for inflation, the number of black households making at least $75,000...

As racial barriers fall and new opportunities arise, growing black middle and upper middle classes have emerged. After adjusting for inflation, the number of black households making at least $75,000 has more than doubled since 1970 (10.4 to 21.3 percent), while the percentage making $100,000 or more has more than tripled (3.7 to 13 percent). Meanwhile, the percentage living on $15,000 or less has declined only a little (from 26.4 to 23.3 percent) (U.S. Census Bureau 2015a).