As the study which defined seven new social classes in the UK is revisited, where do you fit in?
Are you on of the “technical middle classes”? Or do you belong to the “new affluent”?
These are just two of the seven new class divisions developed to revise outdated market research categorisations and 19th century ways of thinking about class.
Professor Mike Savage from the London School of Economics used survey information from 161,000 people to determine seven new divisions between 2011 and 2013, which led to the creation of the BBC’s class calculator.
Savage is now sharing fresh analysis of the original data which was used to form the categories in his new book Social Class in the 21st Century.
The new classes
The scale developed for the BBC’s class calculator follows the work of French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu, who believed that class was a mix of culture, taste and who you interact with, as well as your occupation.
Below is a table with some brief descriptions about what factors determined where people fit in with the new categories.
|
Class |
Average income / education |
Type of jobs they do |
Cultural interests |
Location |
Population share |
|
Elite |
£89,082 / Oxbridge, LSE |
Chief executive, banker, dentist |
Classical music, jazz, art |
London, Home Counties |
6% |
|
Established Middle |
£47,184 / university |
Town planners, police, midwives |
Highbrow and new pop |
Suburbs, rural areas |
25% |
|
Technical Middle |
£37,428 / Science degrees |
Pilots, pharmacists |
No time for culture |
South East, suburbs |
6% |
|
New Affluent |
£29,252 / Few graduates |
Sales workers, engineers |
Gigs, social media |
Midlands and North |
15% |
|
Emergent Services |
£21,048 / Arts degrees |
Chefs, care workers, nursing assistants |
Pop, sport, social networks |
Cities, large university towns |
19% |
|
Traditional Working |
£13,305 / Few graduates |
Secretaries, lorry drivers, electricians |
Moderate interest in music and art |
Scotland and Wales |
14% |
|
Precariat |
£8,253 / low level |
Cleaners, cashiers, unemployed |
Low level of cultural interest |
Outside South East |
15% |
Revisiting the data
Savage’s new book delves deeper into the initial research.
The class breakdown of those who joined in show high proportions of people in the 'elite' took part in the survey relative to the size of the population, but the opposite was true of the 'precariat' who Savage suggests "found it intimidating to do this web survey".
The new findings also show extremes in class based on location.
It shows you are more likely to find members of the elite living close to other members of the elite, in some parts of the country like Surrey, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire for example.
But there are lots of high-low districts, where there are high numbers of people from the elite class surrounded by areas which are less affluent. The report says these areas include the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, parts of Cheshire and Northumberland, or Selby district in North Yorkshire.
Savage also suggests that getting a good degree can impact the class people end up in, but not getting a degree doesn’t necessarily mean they have no prospect of moving up.
The report also looks at how family connections influence class and whether people with elite jobs who also had parents in elite positions can expect to do better.
Which new social class are you?
If the new analysis is anything to go by social class in 21st Century Britain is complex and it can be tough to define let alone figure out which you belong to.
Where do you think you fit in on the new social scale? Vote in the poll below.