Last week we looked at A Drop in Most American’s Net Worth. Indeed, the median was down by 39% and the average, just under 15%. This was for the three year period from 2007-2010. Now, let’s look at income over the same period.
Charts are nice, but let me spell out the numbers, the median (half make more, half less) family income dropped by 7.7%, while the mean (average) fell 11%. This means that higher income earners income fell more than lower income earners reversing the 2004-2007 trend. The average family in the top 10% of earners saw their income fall by just over 16%. It was a tough period and the downturn hit all of us. For more numbers, sorted by age, education, and more check out the full report titled Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2007 to 2010: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances.