The national avg net worth is like 100K - how is this possible? (rate, dollars)

[Magicwaters177]

Considering, most people have some equity in their house, it means vast majority of people have nothing in terms of liquid cash or assets outside of their home


How is this possible? The avg age in America is 40 - which means you've been working for 18 years. How are people not able to save anything?

[fishbrains]

Because many people are trapped in low wage jobs and cannot save enough to purchase a house. Only 65% of Americans own their homes.

Because we have an insane health care system, and people can in incur tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt.

Because public funding of higher education has been gutted over the past 20 years, and people take out massive debt in the form of student loans.

[GuyInSD]

I think you meant "Median"; lots of good information here, particularly the net worth percentiles chart:
https://dqydj.com/average-median-top...h-percentiles/

"In 2020, $121,411 was the median household net worth in the United States"
"The average household net worth in 2020 was $746,821"

[mathjak107]

Personally I don’t care what anyone supposedly has or not No one looks out for my financial well being but me What they do is their business

[mysticaltyger]

--Because the out of wedlock birth rate is 40%. That knocks a whole lot of people out of the middle class right out of the starting gate. Those remaining hold onto their middle class status much more tenuously than those who marry before they have kids.

--A bunch of people who do things in the right order (education, then marriage, then kids) end up getting divorced, which is a wealth killer.

--Some people really do have physical or mental handicaps that prevent them from earning a decent income. Not nearly as many as the "it's impossible for the average person to save money" crowd insists, but a non-trivial percentage.

--A lot of people agree saving money is a good thing in the same way they agree losing weight is good. It's a good and healthy thing to do, but they don't do it.

[tommy64]

It really is amazing because the stock market has been on a long bull run and continues. If the average net worth is 100k, who's investing?

[jiminnm]

Here it is 2021, and people still don't understand the difference between median and average. Maybe that's part of the answer to the OP's question.

[usnftcret]

Originally Posted by jiminnm

Here it is 2021, and people still don't understand the difference between median and average. Maybe that's part of the answer to the OP's question.

I only know that I am above the median average.

[JonathanLB]

The same reason 74% of people are overweight - they suck at even the basics of living. They have no discipline, no work ethic, and no ability to plan for the future. It’s sadly the minority who thinks about anything beyond their momentary impulses or maybe what they’re doing this weekend. It’s baffling, but look at the average IQ - 100. That’s... not good. IQ tests mostly consist of very common sense, logical questions. If people are scoring 100 on average, it’s no wonder they have trouble doing basic things like save money or stay in shape.

[athena53]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

Personally I don’t care what anyone supposedly has or not No one looks out for my financial well being but me. What they do is their business

Ah, but it BECOMES your business when they turn to the taxpayers for support. I see now that the new administration is talking about increasing Survivor SS by 20%. That's because widows (mostly widows since women live longer) are struggling after the death of a spouse because household SS goes from 150% of the husband's PIA to 100%. This is one of the most transparent aspects of SS and yet when it happens, many surviving spouses find it an unhappy surprise. I'm not holding my breath to see "my" 20%; I actually saved for retirement and have income beyond SS.

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

--Because the out of wedlock birth rate is 40%. That knocks a whole lot of people out of the middle class right out of the starting gate. Those remaining hold onto their middle class .

Yeah, this is an almost-certain ticket to poverty. Not 100% certain; my niece had a baby at age 19 and broke up with Baby Daddy (whom my sister, the baby's grandmother, described as "a sweet little guy with the brains of a paramecium"). With a LOT of support from her parents, emotional, logistical and financial, she finished her education, got a degree as an X-Ray tech, married an architect and got MORE education so she could do interventional radiology. They had two more kids together.

That's not the norm, though. Because I need a mindless escape in these times I've been watching "Teen Mom 2". Train wrecks- even the ones trying to do the right thing and finish their education while holding down a job and tending to a baby. hen my granddaughters get old enough that their hormones are kicking in I'm going to make them watch a few episodes.