The income decline: The decline began long before the Great Recession, and it has hit the American middle class hard. Men’s incomes were falling well before 2000, the household income decline began in 2000, and women’s steady income growth came to a halt in the 2000s. The political repercussions of the resulting economic anxiety are well known.
The wealth decline: To rub salt into the economic wound of waning incomes, household net worth collapsed with the Great Recession as the housing bubble burst. Median household net worth fell 40 percent between 2007 and 2013, after adjusting for inflation.
The homeownership decline: The homeownership rate peaked in 2004. The number of homeowners peaked in 2006. By 2015, there were 1.4 million fewer homeowners than in the peak year. The homeownership rate in 2015 was the lowest since 1967.
Cheryl Russell, Editorial Director, New Strategist Press.