America facts of the day

A longer-term perspective shows that the median American family income has declined about 12.4 per cent since the peak in 2004…

There is also this:

For a brief time, the Midwest was the best-off region but median incomes there have fallen by a staggering 23 per cent since 2001…

Median net worth is down forty percent from its peak (“we’re not as wealthy as we thought we were”), yet the top three percent has done quite well.  And in case you are thrilled about the recent economic recovery:

The most striking finding is that the median American family earned 5 per cent less in 2013 than in 2010 after inflation even though the average American family took home 4 per cent more.

None of this is especially new, but these are the latest numbers and it is remarkable how much they confirm some of the more pessimistic readings of recent American history.

From Matthew C. Klein at FTAlphaville, there is more here.