Are You Above Average? - household income statistics - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Jan, 2001 by Melynda Dovel Wilcox

TRENDS | Know where you stand on the FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE.

ARE YOU ONE of the "rich" Americans who, according to Al Gore, would be richly rewarded by George W. Bush's "risky tax scheme"? Or are you among the bottom 50% who, the governor argued, would enjoy the bulk of the savings? When the fur flies in a presidential campaign, it's sometimes as hard to find your place in the heated rhetoric as it is to find that goofy little character in the Where's Waldo books.

Use this snapshot of financial America circa 2001 to find your place.

--Reporter: COURTNEY MCGRATH

WHO MAKES WHAT

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $53,100

White: $58,800

Nonwhite or Hispanic: $33,500

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD ...

is working for someone else: $53,500

is self-employed: $109,000

is retired: $32,900

SLICING THE PIE

IF YOUR FAMILY INCOME   THEN YOU'RE AMONG
IS AT LEAST ...            THE TOP ...

      $355,000                  1%
       130,600                  5
        93,800                 10
        60,800                 25
        33,400                 50

WHAT THEY'RE WORTH

Tiger Woods: $150 million

Oprah Winfrey: $800 million

Charles Schwab: $10 billion

Bill Gates: $63 billion

WHO'S GOT WHAT

MEDIAN NET WORTH

all U.S. households: $71,600

top 10% of households: $900,000

top 1% of households: $5.9 million

households age 65-74: $146,500

White: $94,900

Nonwhite or Hispanic: $16,400

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD ...

is working for someone else: $52,400

is self-employed: $248,100

is retired: $113,000

WHAT THEY MAKE

ANNUAL AVERAGE SALARY AND BONUS FOR ...

Someone earning federal minimum wage: $10,710

A retiree receiving average monthly social security check: $10,140

(Maximum for someone retiring in 2001: $18,480)

First-year schoolteacher:

nationwide: $26,640

in Alaska: $32,885

in North Dakota: $19,140

First-year police officer: $29,860

in Detroit: $28,055

in Roswell, N.M.: $23,005

Web-site general manager/ administrator: $109,700

Portfolio manager of a U.S. stock mutual fund: $153,000

Family doctor: $141,495

Heart surgeon: $468,690

CEO of ...

Wal-Mart: $2 million (2000)

Bank of America: $3.8 million (1999)

IBM: $9.2 million (1999)

General Electric: $13.3 million (1999)

DEPLOYING THE ASSETS

AVERAGE AMOUNT OF HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS IN ...

mutual funds: $25,000

individual stocks: $17,500

bank accounts: $18,100

retirement accounts: $24,000

Average 401(k) balance: $39,970

Americans without any retirement savings at all: 51.2%

Median financial assets of households ages 55 to 64: $45,600

FAMILIES WHO ...

own stock directly or indirectly: 48.8%

own shares of stocks directly: 19.2%

don't have a bank account: 9.5%

have an online brokerage account: 6.5%

HOME SWEET HOME

Median value of primary residence: $100,000

Median home equity: $38,000

Americans who own a second home: 12.8%

WHO PAYS THE TAXES

THIS PERCENTAGE    PAYS THIS PERCENTAGE
OF TAXPAYERS ...   OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX

      1%                    33%
      5                     55
     10                     63
     25                     82
     50                     96

THE PRICE OF SHELTER

Median monthly mortgage payment: $720

New mortgages with loan-to-value ratios ...

80% or less: 66%

80% to 90%: 13%

over 90%: 21%

New mortgages with adjustable rates: 19%

PAYING WITH PLASTIC

Households carrying a credit card balance: 44%

Median balance: $1,700

53% pay off the balance in full each month.

28% say they hardly ever pay off the balance.

GIVING BACK

AVERAGE CHARITABLE DEDUCTIONS

for all itemizers: $3,125

for those with adjustable gross income under $15,000: $1,175

for those with AGI of $100,000 to $200,000: $3,620

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

SHARE OF HOUSEHOLD SPENDING ON ...

shelter: 33%

transportation: 18.6%

food: 13.5%

retirement-plan contributions and FICA taxes: 8.4%

health care: 5.4%

entertainment: 4.9%

apparel: 4.7%

miscellaneous: 11.5%