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U.S. median household income: $ 40,816
(U.S. Census Bureau, 1999)

Average household net worth of the top 1% of wage earners: $10,204,000
Average net worth of the bottom 40% of wage earners: $1900
(Edward N. Wolff, "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-1998," April 2000)

Definition of middle class in terms of income: $ 32,653 to $ 48,979
(Economy.Com’s The Dismal Scientist, 1999)

Percentage of U.S. children who live in poverty: 20
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2000)

Percentage of U.S. adults who live in poverty: 12
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2000)

Percentage of single mothers who live in poverty: 37.4%
(U.S. Census Bureau, 1999)

Rank of the U.S. among the seventeen leading industrial nations with the largest percentage of their populations in poverty: 1
(United Nations Human Development Report 1998, N.Y.C.)

Portion of U.S. stock owned by the wealthiest 10 % of Americans: 9/10
(Economic Policy Institute, Washington D.C., 1999)

Median hourly wage of a former welfare recipient: $6.61
(Urban Institute, 2000)

Percentage of former welfare recipients who have no access to a car: 90%
(Surface Transportation Policy Project, 2001)

Bill Gates hourly wage: $650,000/hr
(Bill Gates Net Worth Page, average since 1986)


In October 1996, 48.6 % of 16-24 year old high school completers in lower income families were enrolled in college, compared with 62.7 % from middle income families and 78 % from higher income families.
(U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey)

Mean verbal SAT score for children in households with incomes below $10,000: 427
Mean verbal SAT score for children in households with incomes above $100,000: 559
Mean math SAT score for children in households with incomes below $10,000: 446
Mean math SAT score for children in households with incomes above $100,000: 572.
(SAT Program information, 1998)

Median household income for those less than a 9th grade education: $17,261
Median household income for those with a 9th - 12th grade education (no diploma): $ 21,737
Median household income for high school graduates: $ 35,744
Median household income for college graduates, B.A.: $ 64,406
Median household income for college graduates, M.A.: $ 74,476
Median household income for professional degree holders: $ 100,000
(U.S. Census Bureau, 1999)


Median net worth of a White American: $81,700
Median net worth of an African-American: $10,000
(Edward N. Wolff, "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-1998," April 2000)

Number of White people living in poverty: 21,922,000
Number of Black people living in poverty: 8,360,000
(U.S. Census Bureau, 1999)

Percentage of men earning poverty level hourly wage: 19.5%
Percentage of women earning poverty level hourly wage: 31.1%
(Economic Policy Institute, 2000)

Males:
White collar: 47% (of workforce), avg hourly wage = $22.20
Service: 10.4%, avg hourly wage = $10.92
Blue collar: 40.1%, avg hourly wage = $13.71

Females:
White collar: 73.4%, avg hourly wage = $14.90
Service: 15.2%, avg hourly wage = $8.17
Blue collar: 9.6%, avg hourly wage = $9.94
(The State of Working America 2000-2001, Economic Policy Institute, statistics are for 2000)

Median Income by type of household:
Family households (all): $49,940
Married couple families: $56,827
Female householder, no husband present: $26,164
Male householder, no wife present: $41,838
(U.S. Census Bureau, 1999)


36 % of those earning $15,000 a year call themselves middle class.
49 % of those with incomes between $ 35,000 and $ 49,999 call themselves middle class
71 % of those with incomes above $ 75,000 call themselves middle class
(National Center for Opinion Research, 2000)

Percentage of 5000 American adults polled who cited "lack of effort as a reason people are poor: 43 %
Percentage who cited "strong effort" as a reason some people are rich: 53%
(Gallup Poll Social Audit, 1998)


Number of American households that spend more than 50% of income on housing: 14 million
(Habitat for Humanity, 1999)

Number of families or primary individuals who live in mobile homes or trailers: 6.8 million
(U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 1999)

Percentage change in the number of rural Americans living in mobile homes between 1980 and 1990: + 52
(Housing Assistance Council, Washington D.C.)

Number of U.S. households earning less than $10,000/year: 7.6 million
Number of affordable housing units available: 4.4 million
(Low Income Housing Information Service, 1995)

Number of gated communities in America: approx. 20,000 (housing approximately 8.4 million people)

(Fortress America: Gated Communities in America, Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder, Brookings Institution Press, 1997)Number of gated communities in 1950: 2,500
(Fortress America, 1997)

Interesting fact: In 1995, homeowners earning more than $100,000 a year received a total of $28.9 billion dollars in federal income tax deductions on mortgage interest payments. The entire 1996 budget of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was only $19 billion.
("The New Politics of Housing," Peter Dreier, Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 63, No. 1, Winter 1997)


Percentage of death row inmates who could not afford to hire a lawyer: 90%
(ACLU, 2001)