The social status of characters in Metamor City can be classified according to the following categories:
| Rank | Social Status |
|---|---|
| 1 | Street Rat |
| 2 | Lower Middle Class Urban |
| 3 | Middle Class Urban |
| 4 | Upper Middle Class Urban |
| 5 | Upper Class |
| 6 | Government |
| 7 | Suburban |
| 8 | Rural |
Street Rat
A person at this status level is either living below the poverty line or obtains their income from the gray-market economy of the Fringe Sector. Day laborers, unlicensed prostitutes, runners, mercenaries and panhandlers all fall into this category. Any resident that survives through hunting and/or scavenging also falls into this category. As the name implies, Street Rats generally live and work on The Street.
Lower Middle Class Urban
This status level includes most unionized industrial laborers, students, waitresses and other service industry workers, and entry-level employees in most professional career paths (clerks, paralegals, rookie cops, medical residents, young Sensualists, etc.). Most people at this level live on the first skyway, also called the Dusk Skyway, or simply "The Dusk".
Middle Class Urban
This status level includes veteran blue-collar workers, businessmen and mid-level professionals. Most people at this level live on the second skyway, though some (like Kate Kitaen) stay on the Dusk level in order to save money while paying off school debts or saving for a down payment on a condo further up.
Upper Middle Class Urban
This status level includes the more successful members of the business sector and established professionals (doctors, lawyers, Sensualist guild house matrons, etc.). Nobles who are far from the direct line of inheritance for their house usually end up in this status level, as well. Most people in this category live on the third skyway level.
Upper Class
This status level includes highly successful businessmen and professionals, as well as many members of the noble houses. Upper class citizens almost always live on the fourth skyway level, or on large estates at the outskirts of the city.
Government
Employees of the Imperial and provincial governments occupy a status level all their own. Many of them live in the Citadel, though nobles who are elected to the Senate usually continue to reside on their ancestral holdings. Even a middle-class member of the government may wield political or bureaucratic power that is far out of proportion to his or her salary.
Suburban
There are many people who live in the Broadfield and Soulshore boroughs, or even outside the city limits, and commute into the downtown boroughs for work. Some of these people travel by skimmer, facing the daily insanity of inner-city traffic. Others travel by subway or skimmer bus.
Rural
Most residents of rural communities don't come into the city often. Those who do might be tourists, or farmers or ranchers coming the city to negotiate with banking officers or prospective buyers for their merchandise.
