Data from the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances show a striking pattern of growth in family income and net worth between 1998 and 2001. Inflation-adjusted incomes of families rose broadly, although growth was fastest among the group of families whose income was higher than the...

Using data that have just become available from the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances along with data from the 1989 and 1992 versions of the survey, this article provides a detailed picture of recent changes in the income, net worth, assets, and liabilities of U.S. families. It also presents...

Over the period from 1989 to 2001, wealth in real terms grew broadly across U.S. families. Characterizing distributional changes is much more complex, and much more dependent on the specific questions asked. For example, there is evidence both from Forbes data on the 400 wealthiest Americans and...