Wealth Grew Broadly Over 3 Years, but Inequality Widened<br />Racial and ethnic minorities experienced the strongest gains in wealth in the 2016 survey, a stark reversal from three<br />years earlier, when the survey showed minority families losing ground even as white families experienced modest gains.<br />The recession sliced nearly 40 percent off the typical household’s net worth,<br />and even after the recent rebound, median net worth remains more than 30 percent below its 2007 level.<br />The gains were broad-based, cutting across racial, educational<br />and economic categories — a significant shift from the years immediately after the recession, when both income and wealth continued to decline for many families.<br />In terms of income, the typical American has made significant progress in recent<br />years, with median household income nearly back to its prerecession peak.<br />The median white family had a net worth of $171,000 in 2016, nearly 10 times that of the median black family.<br />Wednesday’s data, from the Federal Reserve’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, shows the strength of the economic rebound in recent years,<br />but also just how large a hole the recession left in many households’ finances.<br />The survey is notable for providing information not just on Americans’ yearly income but also on their assets, debts and overall net worth — measures<br />that are in many ways more important to families’ financial security.
