Groups of people divided based on income are referred to as what?

• A. Social class
• B. Race
• C. Occupation
• D. Gender

Answer: (A)

Grouping people by income reflects social class, a way societies rank individuals based on economic resources. Income is a central factor that shapes access to housing, education, healthcare, and opportunities, so categorizing people by how much money they have is essentially describing social class. The other options refer to different bases of division: race is about ethnicity, occupation refers to the type of job someone has (which can relate to class but isn’t the same as grouping by income), and gender concerns identity. Socioeconomic status is a related term that combines income, education, and occupation, but when the focus is specifically on income, social class is the most accurate label.