Since a picture is worth a thousand words - here is a picture:



Legend:

Bruttoeinkommen - gross income, income before taxes

Armutgrenze - poverty line
Unterschicht - lower class
Mittelstand - middle class
Oberschicht - upper class

Einpersonenhaushalt - single person household
Alleinerziehend mit 1 Kind - single parent with 1 child
Paar ohne kind - couple without children
Paar mit 2 Kindern - couple with 2 children

V.