I’m not going to make this too complicated but when we talk about Americans in the 1920s (and any nationality at any time) we are not talking about a single type of person. The word we use is homogenous, i.e they are not homogenous, all of the same.
So what groups of people do we want to be aware of in America? In rural America there were, of course, the farmers. But these, themselves, were far from being a homogenous group. There were large farms on the prairies, small farms often in debt, tenant farmers who rented their land, and desperately poor sharecroppers (tenant farmers who give a share of their crop in lieu of the rent for the land they farm).
In the towns and even more so, the cities of America there were the wealthy (few in number but often very, very wealthy), the middle classes, still not so great in number but growing as the economy needed more managers, technicians, lawyers and the like, and the working class who ranged from doing quite well to barely surviving. If we bear in mind this last group, add to them the farmers who were not doing so well we are reminded that some 42% of Americans were living below the poverty line (those without the means to provide basic shelter, food or clothing) and if we add those on, or just above, the poverty line, the total was 60%. Only for the wealthy (few in number), the middle classes (growing but still small in number), and those workers who were doing relatively well was the economy “booming”.
Now we need to add to this analysis, the racial dimension. For America could be divided between white Americans and African Americans, the former slaves; and between the older immigrants and the newer immigrants. I guess you know where you are going to find most of your 42/62%!
We could add other factors, sociologists would certainly do so, but one other factor that could be usefully added for you is that society also consists of the young, the middle-aged and the elderly. This is important as, when you look at American culture, there is a very different perspective between the three groups. And when you come to consider the psychological impact of unemployment, again there is a a great deal of difference in the way it impacted on the young adult and the middle-aged.
So, society is clearly not homogenous. Sometimes we have to treat it as one but whenever you can, try to distinguish between different groups. You will be rewarded for doing so!