Tuesday, June 12, 2012

families are poorer

A hypothetical family richer than half the nation’s families and poorer than the other half had a net worth of $77,300 in 2010, compared with $126,400 in 2007. The fall in housing prices directly accounted for three-quarters of the loss.

Families’ income also continued to decline, a trend that predated the crisis but accelerated over the same period. Median family income fell to $45,800 in 2010 from $49,600 in 2007. All figures were adjusted for inflation.

The share of families saving anything over the previous year fell to 52 percent in 2010 from 56.4 percent in 2007. More families said they were saving money as a precautionary measure, to make sure they had enough liquidity to meet short-term needs. Fewer said they were saving for retirement, or for education, or for a down payment on a home.

74.9 percent of households still owed debts. The decline in reported incomes could have increased the weight of those debts, tying up a larger share of families’ take-home pay.

Ranking American families by income, the top 10 percent of households still earned an average of $349,000 in 2010. The average net worth of the same families was $2.9 million.


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