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NEW: Academics and pollsters often use college education to define the "working class." But how do voters actually apply the term? We find that voters typically consider someone’s level of workforce participation, economic situation, and job type to define the working class.

Data for Progress

@dataforprogress.org

In a forced-choice question, voters mostly say being "working class" is about someone's current economic situation or job type.

4/9/26, 2:25 pm6 reposts30 likes

Data for Progress

@dataforprogress.org

4 Sept

And when asked about hypothetical profiles, voters do not use college degree as a main factor in determining whether someone is "working class."

Black Intellect Media

@blackintellect.bsky.social

8 Sept

Interesting how a woman's work inside the home is still not viewed as 'work'

Data for Progress

@dataforprogress.org

4 Sept

View the full poll and open-end responses here: www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2026/9/...

dataforprogress.orgVoters Define 'Working Class' by Workforce Participation, Economic Situation, and Job Type — Not EducationVoters do not typically define “working class” along educational lines.

Jon Pennington

@jonpennington.bsky.social

4 Sept

Has anybody tried doing this as a conjoint study designed to minimize priming & social desirability effects? In a conjoint study, you’re responding to a gestalt & the respondent may not be conscious about what attribute they use to define “working class.”