Median net worth

In the item about median net worth, the figures given were for 2002, for which year they said that white households had a median net worth of greater than $88,000. For 2003, another article about median net worth states

The median net worth of all U.S. households, meanwhile, is $100,894, meaning half of all homes have less.

So somebody's gotten richer. Going back to 2000,

• Median household net worth increased from $49,932 in 1998 to $55,000 in 2000.


• Median home equity for households was $59,000 in 2000, significantly higher than the 1998 median household home equity of $55,263.


• In 2000, median household net worth generally increased with the age of the householder, rising from $7,240 for householders under the age of 35, to $108,885 for householders 65 and older.


• In 2000, the household median net worth was $79,400 for households with a non-Hispanic White householder, $7,500 for households with a Black householder, and $9,750 for households with a Hispanic householder. Hispanic households and Black households had significantly lower net worth than non-Hispanic White households, but the difference between Hispanic and Black households was not statistically significant.


• Married-couple households, the majority of households, had the highest median net worth in 2000: $91,218. Significantly lower net worth characterized male householders ($24,659) and female householders ($23,028).

So things have been bad for awhile, but as Ernie Chambers says, it looks as if it's partly due to single parenthood. Note also that net worth increases with age. Of interest to me is the evidence that home equity provides the lion's share for most people. Since we've got to live in our houses, our net worth is less than it might appear. If this proportion holds for more recent years, it may have something to say about the $100,000 for last year, given the bubble in housing prices in many markets that I keep hearing about.

Update
I was wrong; the median value of home equity was $59,000, but the percent distribution for net worth was only 32.3. See the table below.

Asset Ownership Rates for Households, Median Value of Holdings, and the Distribution of Net Worth by Asset Type


So home equity only constitutes a third for the median; still, it's the largest part. (Also, note that these stats do not cover equities in pension plans, the cash value of life insurance policies, and the value of home furnishings and jewelry, because estimates are too difficult).