Middle class wages have stagnated over the past few decades, growing only 40.6% compared to 6.1% growth for the top 1% and declining -5.3% for the bottom 20%. More recently, middle class wages have begun declining, falling -1.7% in recent years compared to further growth of 3.3% for the top 1% and a larger decline of -4.3% for the bottom 20%. Additionally, fewer Americans now think they belong to the middle class according to a recent poll.