German Economic Institute defines wealth and class thresholds

The German Economic Institute (IW) has released a study outlining income thresholds to classify socioeconomic status in Germany. Based on 2024 European Union data, the study uses monthly net household income to categorize individuals and families into groups ranging from relatively poor to relatively wealthy.

For single-person households, a monthly net income below €1,450 is considered relatively poor, while those earning above €6,050 are classified as relatively wealthy. For single parents with a child under 14, the threshold for being relatively poor is €1,890, with the wealthy category starting above €7,860.

In two-person households without children, the poverty threshold is €2,180, and the wealthy threshold begins above €9,070. For households with one child under 14, the relatively poor threshold is €2,610, while those earning above €10,890 are considered relatively wealthy.