Net Worth of the Average American

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Do you agree or fall close to the data?
I was shocked. I thought people had more money than that! To me this is poverty.
I wonder why is goes down the last two data sets (oldest ages).


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It's not the average it's the median.

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since the full financial surveys stopped as part of the census , the random sporadic surveys they do really fall short of knowing what everyone is supposed to have . especially because different areas are going to see huge differences. no one is ever average either .
 
mathjak107 said:
since the full financial surveys stopped as part of the census , the random sporadic surveys they do really fall short of knowing what everyone is supposed to have . especially because different areas are going to see huge differences. no one is ever average either .
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Like you say...median or average worth depends a lot on where a person lives. In our area, $30K/yr allows a person to live fairly well...assuming they are debt free...whereas in some of the major coastal cities, $100K/yr would barely be enough. The important thing is to have saved enough assets to withstand the normal expenses one can expect in retirement....health issues, household maintenance, etc. If a person worked all their lives, and has to take out a loan to buy a new appliance, they have missed the boat.
 
Debodun: I read financial and retirement articles daily and what most of them have in common is how little Americans have saved for retirement. From one of the articles I read recently: "Given that nearly seven in 10 Americans have less than $1,000 saved for retirement, it shouldn't be surprising that 77% of them are postponing retirement." Here's the link to the entire article: http://www.kiplinger.com/article/re...g.html?rid=SYN-yahoo&rpageid=15738&yptr=yahoo
 
I think the drop off in net worth after 64 is related to living on a fixed income in retirement. Later the mandatory distribution of money set aside in 401k's and IRA's kicks in.

I don't see the numbers as shocking especially since the net worth data collection doesn't show when it was generated. I expect those numbers to reflect an even greater decline since wages have been static since 2009. Poverty has increased and jobs while touted as being 4.9%, the jobs are lower paying service jobs, or part time.

Doesn't take a math major to figure out the impact that will have on the median net worth numbers in the age groups shown.
 
The median chart is the one you want to look at.

Average a few billionaires in with everyday folks and the numbers go WAY up and it is misleading. The median is the point at which half the Americans have less, and half have more. So, for example *half* of Americans 65-69 have less than $43.9K net worth, if you don't count their house.

I wonder, if you are talking about a married couple, would you double the amount for the household net worth?
 
I've been saving consistently since I was married and have been blessed by good health. Had only one child, had a good-paying job, lived in our "starter" home and invested wisely. Happy to say I'm well above the median for my age group.
 
The trouble with counting on the worth of your house as part of your net worth for retirement purposes is that many times, at least around here, it takes forever to sell a house; and even if you do manage to sell it, you still have to live somewhere. I don't know what my house is worth, really, but it's the cheapest place for me to live, even considering repairs and property taxes, etc., because it's paid for. There are houses in my neighborhood that have been on the market for over 2 years. Real estate is VERY slow here. My sister lives in a decent, but very little bitty apartment not too far from me and she pays more than I do for housing, and her rent keeps going up every year.
 
in the end who really cares what anyone else has ? if more folks worried about themselves they would be far better off . there isn't a day that goes by that there is not a how bad everyone is supposedly doing article somewhere .
 
mathjak107 said:
in the end who really cares what anyone else has ?
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I was just thinking about how much money people have since I hear endless stories from people that stop at my garage sale about how strapped they are. Also the constant news articles about how most Americans are "struggling" economically. Couldn't prove it by me when I see people wearing designer clothing and driving Accuras crying "poor".
 
You should come to New Mexico and see what people are wearing and driving, and living in. Big wake up call. Perhaps you live in affluent area, so that's what you see. We have some affluent areas here, too, where you see fancy clothes and snazzy cars, but it certainly isn't the norm, or the majority.
 

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