FACTBOX-Defining the U.S. middle class

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Most Americans in the United States define themselves as being part of the middle class, but there are differing opinions of what that means.

The White House on Friday announced a task force to work on raising the living standards of the middle-class population and poor people who aspire to join its ranks.

Politicians from President Barack Obama to leaders in Congress have placed a priority on revitalizing the large, elusive group, which makes up the core of the U.S. population.

Economists say there is no specific criteria for defining the middle class, though income level is the most common way of breaking it down.

Below are some of the ways the middle class is defined:

ECONOMISTS

Economists generally align the group according to earnings, even if there is no standard established range.

"Most people tend to think of themselves as middle class unless they're (billionaire investor) Warren Buffet or really poor," said J.D. Foster, an economist and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

He said he defined the upper 20 percent of earners as "upper income," the lower 20 percent as "lower income" and the 60 percent in the middle as "middle income" or middle class. He cited a Congressional Budget Office report that put that range at $15,900 and below for people in the lower income range and $120,600 or above for those in the upper income tier.

Brian Riedl, another economist at the Heritage Foundation, said the definition could change based on location and living expenses.

"Middle class can be relative to where you live," he said, adding that more income would be needed for a middle class lifestyle in New York City than a town in Nebraska.

DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS

Politicians tend to define the group by income too, though "middle income" does not always mean middle class.

During his presidential campaign Obama promised "middle class tax cuts" for households earning less than $200,000 a year. That would imply an income cap, above which earners are considered to be making more than middle-class wages.

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recently suggested reducing the 25 percent tax rate "currently applied to the middle class" to 15 percent.

The 25 percent rate applies to families whose incomes are between $65,100 and $131,450 annually or to single people with incomes roughly between $32,000 and $79,000.