Yes, but what about a non-tautological definition - "The middle class is the people who own middle class homes" raises the question "What's a middle class home?

Yes, but what about a non-tautological definition - "The middle class is the people who own middle class homes" raises the question "What's a middle class home?". The answer of course is "A middle class home is the type of home typically owned by middle class people". It gets harder to define something with an answer more explanatory than "that thing is that thing".