A new study reveals more than 40 percent of U.S. households can’t afford middle-class basics like rent, child care and cellphones, Axios is reporting.

The study was conducted by United Way and reported by Axios. It is scheduled for release on Thursday.

According to Axios, the study found 34.7 million people in the U.S. who live above the poverty line, but cannot pay ordinary expenses. The number is twice as high as the 16.3 million who are in actual poverty, project director Stephanie Hoopes said.

And she said the number of those just above poverty appears to be growing larger despite the improving economy.

"It's a magnitude of financial hardship that we can't been able to capture until now," Hoopes said.

The study used data collected from individual states and found that California, Hawaii and News Mexico all have 49 percent of their population living between poverty and middle class.