Economy

US Household Wealth Hits New All-Time Record in 2017

Jon C. Ogg

Published: June 8, 2017 2:58 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 11:13 am

The Federal Reserve has now shown that US household wealth rose by 1.4% to $94.8 trillion in the first quarter of 2017. This is a record level and it is up almost 70% since the recession. One of the top reasons was higher stock and mutual fund portfolios gaining about $1.3 trillion. Home values added about $499 billion.

Household wealth has now recovered in full and then some since the great recession and has continued to rise above levels from before the recession.

In an effort to define total household wealth, this includes checking and savings accounts and other assets and it pulls out the total debt from mortgages, credit cards and other loans. The household wealth report is not adjusted for inflation.

While the wealth report is at a record, the New York Federal Reserve also previously showed that the household debt has reached a new peak after higher mortgages, car loans and student debt. In the first quarter of 2017, household debt and credit rose by $149 billion to $12.73 trillion. That is $50 billion higher than the previous peak reached in the third quarter of 2008. Balances rose 1.7% on mortgages, 0.9% in auto loans, and rose 2.6% in student loans. Credit card balances actually fell by 1.9% in the first quarter.

Total U.S. household wealth was $66.5 trillion at the end of 2007, but that san to $56.2 trillion in 2008 before its long slow recovery. Home prices on a national level had not fully recovered from the recession until September of 2016. Meanwhile, consumer spending has risen by about 2.3% per year since 2009 and that was much lower than after prior recessions.

Full data from the Fed’s flow of funds report is now available.