PROVIDENCE – The gap between the wealthiest families and the rest of the country decreased slightly from 2016 to 2019, with the biggest gains among historically disadvantaged demographics such as those without higher educational degrees, as well as racial and ethnic minorities, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances.
However, white, college-educated and high-wealth families remain substantially better off than their peers, the triennial survey showed.
Your Business Has Gone Global. Has Your Insurance?
A decade ago, “doing business internationally” was mostly a large-company concern. Today, a manufacturer in…
Learn More
The latest survey, published last month, reflects data gathered in 2019, prior to the onset of the new coronavirus.
Since the last survey in 2016, median family income rose 5% to $58,600, while median net worth skyrocketed 18% to $121,700. However, mean income dropped 3%, and average net worth rose just 2%.
Taken together, these findings suggest a narrowing of income and wealth distribution, as the wealthiest families saw the smallest increases in net worth and income in the last three years. In contrast, families without a high school diploma or with some college education, as well as Black and Hispanic families, saw median income and net worth increase.
These findings mark a reversal from the 2010 to 2016 survey trend, in which income distribution widened “considerably” between the wealthiest families and the rest of Americans, the report stated.
However, the top 1% of families still hold nearly 40% of the nation’s net worth, and only the top 10% were better off in 2019 than prior to the 2008 recession, the report stated. And inequities persist across race and educational levels.
Median income for Black and Hispanic families was just over $40,000, compared with $69,000 for white families. The difference was even starker when comparing net worth, with median net worth of $24,100 for Black families and $36,200 for Hispanic families, compared with $188,200 among white families.
Median income and net worth among college-educated families, regardless of race, was $95,700 and $308,200, respectively. The least-educated families, those with no high school diploma, reported median income and net worth of $30,800 and $20,500, respectively.
Other key findings:
- The homeownership rate reached 64.9%, reversing a declining trend from 2004 to 2016.
- More than 98% of families held at least one financial asset, which was nearly on par with the rate in 2016, with a 3% rise in conditional median value of financial assets held.
- Seventy-seven percent of families held debt, which was on par with 2016, with median debt obligations up 2% between 2016 and 2019.
- More than 45% of families reported credit card debt, the most widely held type of debt, with median balances up 10% from 2016.
- Twenty-two percent of families owed student debt, similar to 2016 but with a 10% bump in median balances owed, to more than $22,000.
Nancy Lavin is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
