The Economic Well-Being of Farm and Nonfarm Households: Evidence from Two National Surveys

This study compares the economic well-being of farm and nonfarm households using data from the 2004 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances. Comparisons are made in terms of income and wealth using Tukey-Kramer mean separation tests, regression analysis, and inequality distributions. The results show that the economic well-being of households differs based on their degree of involvement in business activities and their life-cycle stages. The most interesting conclusion is that the well-being of rural residence and intermediate farms is comparable to that of wage-earning nonfarm households, while commercial farms are similar in well-being to nonfarm households with businesses.