How You Stack Up
(MONEY Magazine) – Wonder if you're keeping up with your neighbors? Sure, your house looks just as big and you both have snazzy new cars, but how do you really measure up? We've put together this handy scorecard of sorts, a glimpse into the assets and debts of a wide swath of Americans as measured by the Federal Reserve. Are you between 35 and 44? The chart tells you that a household income of $105,770 would put you squarely in the upper fifth of earners in your age group. And if you have a net worth of more than $266,600, congrats: You're doing better on that score than the median for your group. Are you between 55 and 64? The chart shows that an income of $71,880 would put you smack at the median for upper-middle-income earners in your age group. And if you don't have credit-card debt, you're doing better in that regard than 41% of your peers. NOTES: "Upper middle" refers to households that place at the 60th to 79.9th percentile for income. "Upper" refers to households that place at the 80th to 89.9th percentile for income. Income , financial assets, net worth and home-loan balances are median values. Only home-loan balances of more than $100 were included. Net worth includes all financial and nonfinancial assets (including liquid, quasi-liquid, vehicles, real estate and business interests) minus debt (including mortgages, HELOCs, credit cards, installment loans, lines of credit and other debt). SOURCE: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 2004. |
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