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Read this article on Yahoo Finance today…

Supposedly every three years, the Federal Reserve Board conducts a national survey that tracks the financial health of American households. Who knew?

If your household makes $170,000 per year, then you’re among the nation’s top 10% wage earners. The middle point is $40K, that is if you make $40K per year, then you’re already in better shape than half the households in USA!

I don’t know how they define households, but here in the SF Bay Area, earning 40K/year would put you in the poverty level. I suppose one person could live on 40K per year but it’d be tough. A household, I assume, is 2 or more people.

40K with 25% federal taxes and 9% state tax would leave you with 25.6K which is just slightly more than 2K/month. You can’t afford to rent an apt so let’s say you rent a room at 500/month.

That leaves about 1500/month for food, gas, insurance (car, health, renter, etc.), entertainment, etc. It’s definitely not much!

Income level (percentile) Median income (rounded)
Level VI (90 to 100) $170,000
Level V (80 to 89.9) $99,000
Level IV (60 to 79.9) $65,000
Level III (40 to 59.9) $40,000
Level II (20 to 39.9) $24,000
Level I (less than 20) $10,000
Source: Before-Tax Family Income, 2001 Federal Reserve Board Survey

According to the Fed, the US national median net worth is $86,000 meaning that half of citizens have more than that and half have less than that. Net worth is assets minus liabilities (debt).

Net worth (percentile) Median net worth (rounded)
Level VI (90 to 100) $833,600
Level V (80 to 89.9) $263,100
Level IV (60 to 79.9) $141,500
Level III (40 to 59.9) $62,500
Level II (20 to 39.9) $37,200
Level I (less than 20) $7,900
Source: Family Net Worth, 2001 Federal Reserve Board Survey

Somewhat mind-boggling is that :
The top 1% of the population of USA, approx 3 million people, currently have as much money as the 100 million people at the bottom.