The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: Mister Fancypants on March 14, 2014, 02:06:10 PM
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You can use the link: http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=814b785f25e24c9d8fc1a61ea61c0462 (http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=814b785f25e24c9d8fc1a61ea61c0462) to view a map of the US which displays the median net worth of the in a very granular scale across the entire country.
The following describes how it calculates Net Worth:
This map service shows the median household net worth in the United States in 2012. Net worth is total household wealth minus secured and unsecured debt. Net worth includes home equity, equity in pension plans, net equity in vehicles, IRAs and Keogh accounts, business equity, interest-earning assets and mutual fund shares, stocks, and so on. Examples of secured debt include home mortgages and vehicle loans; examples of unsecured debt include credit card debt, certain bank loans, and other outstanding bills. Forecasts of net worth are based on the Survey of Consumer Finances, Federal Reserve Board. The median net worth of households in the United States overall was $66,311 in 2012.
To use the map click on open select Add to new map, I like to select street view as the base map, then click the little drop down triangle next to "USA Median Net Worth (Mature Support)" use the transparency selector and set it to about 45%, this is good setting to be able to see the street view behind the Net Worth map.
Then zoom in, if you zoom in too far it is too granular to have details back out one zoom level and click on the block and you will get a break down of the number of households in the block with a net worth range.
Of the 565 households in my block 418 of them have Net Worth greater than $500,001 which is the top bracket reported.
You might be surprised the breakdown of your neighborhood.
Happy Net Worth hunting
-Mister FancyPants
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Nope, not worth the look to subscribe for free!
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Wow. I'm surprised such detailed information is available.
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The median net worth of households in this block group in 2012 was $105,993, or 160% of the national average.
I expect that the adjoining neighborhoods to mine (custom houses, $500k+) bring this up. In fact I expected it to be quite a bit higher.
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You don't need to subscribe - just click "open" -> "add to map"
Ohh, I just saw if you click on the segment they show a distribution.
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The nearby cemetery has some high net worth corpses.
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What do you mean by "click on the block?" I see some colors in my city from yellow to green but where is the actual numerical data?
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Of the 565 households in my block...
Interesting sort of bias there. Does it only look at people who live on rectangular grids? Even for those who do, it'd seem as though those across the street - that is, in the next block - are closer neighbors than those around two corners.
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What do you mean by "click on the block?" I see some colors in my city from yellow to green but where is the actual numerical data?
The block is the most granular level of detail the map shows, when you zoom in. If you are zoomed out it is tract based.
Blocks is tax map term used in demographics.
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Of the 565 households in my block...
Interesting sort of bias there. Does it only look at people who live on rectangular grids? Even for those who do, it'd seem as though those across the street - that is, in the next block - are closer neighbors than those around two corners.
No some grids are odd shaped it depend on how the census maps the area.
If the grids are all fairly rectangular in an area then the demographics are probably somewhat consistent according to the census.
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It shows up when you click on the colors.
You make it sound so obvious. ;)
$18000 net worth. Word.
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It shows up when you click on the colors.
You make it sound so obvious. ;)
$18000 net worth. Word.
Sorry I just thought to post this map today as it might interesting to others, I've been using it for years for research.
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Sorry I just thought to post this map today as it might interesting to others, I've been using it for years for research.
How are renters taken into account? A nearby student ghetto has a net worth of $8,000 (their cars?) but someone owns those houses and duplexes. I suppose that value would show up in the owners' blocks.
It's a great resource. Thanks for sharing.
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Sorry I just thought to post this map today as it might interesting to others, I've been using it for years for research.
How are renters taken into account? A nearby student ghetto has a net worth of $8,000 (their cars?) but someone owns those houses and duplexes. I suppose that value would show up in the owners' blocks.
It's a great resource. Thanks for sharing.
It is based on census data so it goes by who lives at the residence not who owns it.
It really tracks the neighborhood not the property owners.
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Darn, it barely misses my neighborhood. The next block up from me (older SFRs, but still nice) is $271,012 net worth. The one above that (mainly apartments and condos) is $13,131. The golf course communities are $300-500k. The main downtown area that has old homes is $20,000 or below. Overall it looks pretty accurate.
I wonder how it takes snowbirds into account. We get a lot of them in my area buying second homes. Seems like they would help push the net worth higher (buying second homes anywhere from $200-400k), but it isn't their permanent residence.
Wherever you filled out you census, so you will only be counted at one residence whichever you count as primary. Owners or rental properties would be owning those assets and the renters show up on the block where they rent.
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My neighborhood has a median net worth $13,187, or 20% of the national average. I'm doing better than that. Thats why all my neighbors call me "The Thousandaire Next Door"...maybe I should write a book or something.
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I'm seeing a huge divide between block groups full of apartments and small houses that tend to attract younger, single people ($12k median) and then immediately adjacent block groups with large and immaculately restored historic homes ($500k median). All in what is popularly considered the same neighborhood and one of the nicest parts of the city.
Ours is $37k, which is a little lower than I expected, but we do have a lot of young families and immigrants just starting out.
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Very interesting map! Our neighborhood is in the $350K range, so we are probably slightly behind, but then, I'd venture that we're below the median age by at least a decade. Our old neighborhood is at $113K, which surprised me (thought it would be lower), but perhaps there are some retirees who've owned there since the 70's and have some NW.
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I'm surprised at the detail - where'd they get the info? I doubt half the people I know even have a clue what their net worth is.
I'm also surprised at the different block sizes. Our "block" is basically our street with adjoining cul-de-sacs (fewer than 300 households). Others are huge, comprising thousands.
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I'm surprised at the detail - where'd they get the info? I doubt half the people I know even have a clue what their net worth is.
I'm also surprised at the different block sizes. Our "block" is basically our street with adjoining cul-de-sacs (fewer than 300 households). Others are huge, comprising thousands.
Census data... Every reports there assets and debts, then that data is compiled against federal databases. If you read the initial post it is in the quote also on the front page of the map, they explain where they data is sourced from.
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It shows very clearly how wealth is geographically concentrated.
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Pretty cool! Always love census data, neat to see so much info, I came up with
The median net worth of households in this block group in 2012 was $112,804, or 170% of the national average. Seems high to me given the large numbers of mobile homes but I guess the large farms really jack the median up. I am sure we swing the average north a fair bit. :)
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Pretty cool. I don't think it is overly accurate. It shows our area as $500,001. This must be the high as I searched other areas and it always showed the same number. I tried where Bill Gates lived which I would be surprised if it was less than $5 million and it came back to the $500k.
Fun to check out other areas.
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Pretty cool. I don't think it is overly accurate. It shows our area as $500,001. This must be the high as I searched other areas and it always showed the same number. I tried where Bill Gates lived which I would be surprised if it was less than $5 million and it came back to the $500k.
Fun to check out other areas.
I agree, 500,001 is the high. Almost every block in the NOVA area reads 500,001.
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Very interesting map! Our neighborhood is in the $350K range, so we are probably slightly behind, but then, I'd venture that we're below the median age by at least a decade. Our old neighborhood is at $113K, which surprised me (thought it would be lower), but perhaps there are some retirees who've owned there since the 70's and have some NW.
I think this is definitely the case for us as well... I think we are by far the youngest non-dependent residents in our block.
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Pretty cool. I don't think it is overly accurate. It shows our area as $500,001. This must be the high as I searched other areas and it always showed the same number. I tried where Bill Gates lived which I would be surprised if it was less than $5 million and it came back to the $500k.
Fun to check out other areas.
I agree, 500,001 is the high. Almost every block in the NOVA area reads 500,001.
It varies, right now the top data range is $500,001, depending on when data is aggregated the ranges change when the map gets republished.
I have seen ranges as high as $1million + but usually that is the highest.
This map I believe was last updated in January so check back often as it is always changing.
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everything around me is 500K + we arent there yet but we are well under average age by probably 15 years minimum
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It shows very clearly how wealth is geographically concentrated.
As a fun side note this map is a great visual reference to look at while reading Thomas Stanley's "The Millionaire Next Door"
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Wow. $500,001.
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Just as I thought...Chicago looks like half of a bulls-eye. Pretty much every tract not within 1-2 miles of downtown to the lake has median NW < $20k; those within that range have median NW 10x or more. Interesting factoid: the median net worth of my tract is about 1/5 of my previous hometown, but the cost per square foot of house is 3x! About half the people here rent, vs. <10% in my previous hometown.
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Thanks, Fancypants, for the link!
I'm surprised at the detail - where'd they get the info? I doubt half the people I know even have a clue what their net worth is.
I'm also surprised at the different block sizes. Our "block" is basically our street with adjoining cul-de-sacs (fewer than 300 households). Others are huge, comprising thousands.
Census data... Every reports there assets and debts, then that data is compiled against federal databases. If you read the initial post it is in the quote also on the front page of the map, they explain where they data is sourced from.
A small nitpick: While the geographical blocks appear to be the same ones used for the census, it looks like the data itself is a proprietary estimate based on the SCF from the Federal Reserve. Here's the whitepaper on the data: http://www.esri.com/data/esri_data/~/media/Files/Pdfs/library/whitepapers/pdfs/demographic-update-methodology-2013.pdf:
A householder's net worth or accumulated wealth reflects ability to stay afloat during a financial shock as well as savings for future retirement. Net worth is estimated from data on household wealth that is collected from the Surveys of Consumer Finance (SCF) from the Federal Reserve Board from 1992 through 2010. These triennial surveys feature enhanced representation of wealthy households through the comprehensive measurement of net worth components. By definition, net worth equals total household assets less any debts, secured or unsecured. Assets include ownership of homes, rental properties, businesses, IRAs and Keogh accounts, pension plans, stocks, mutual funds, and motor vehicles. Examples of secured debt include home mortgages and vehicle loans; unsecured debt includes credit card and other bills or certain bank loans.
Since I imagine that the SCF is a much smaller scale operation than the census, I'm a little skeptical that the numbers can be accurate at the finest granularity that they're exposed.
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Thanks, Fancypants, for the link!
I'm surprised at the detail - where'd they get the info? I doubt half the people I know even have a clue what their net worth is.
I'm also surprised at the different block sizes. Our "block" is basically our street with adjoining cul-de-sacs (fewer than 300 households). Others are huge, comprising thousands.
Census data... Every reports there assets and debts, then that data is compiled against federal databases. If you read the initial post it is in the quote also on the front page of the map, they explain where they data is sourced from.
A small nitpick: While the geographical blocks appear to be the same ones used for the census, it looks like the data itself is a proprietary estimate based on the SCF from the Federal Reserve. Here's the whitepaper on the data: http://www.esri.com/data/esri_data/~/media/Files/Pdfs/library/whitepapers/pdfs/demographic-update-methodology-2013.pdf:
A householder's net worth or accumulated wealth reflects ability to stay afloat during a financial shock as well as savings for future retirement. Net worth is estimated from data on household wealth that is collected from the Surveys of Consumer Finance (SCF) from the Federal Reserve Board from 1992 through 2010. These triennial surveys feature enhanced representation of wealthy households through the comprehensive measurement of net worth components. By definition, net worth equals total household assets less any debts, secured or unsecured. Assets include ownership of homes, rental properties, businesses, IRAs and Keogh accounts, pension plans, stocks, mutual funds, and motor vehicles. Examples of secured debt include home mortgages and vehicle loans; unsecured debt includes credit card and other bills or certain bank loans.
Since I imagine that the SCF is a much smaller scale operation than the census, I'm a little skeptical that the numbers can be accurate at the finest granularity that they're exposed.
FiveSigmas - I would agree they are a smaller op and it is probably more than small nitpick, however for pure recreational purposes or simple academic or even low level financial analysis it is more than adequate.
But thnk you for pointing out the white paper, I'm sure most people have just been viewing the map. As with anything do your own due diligence. You clearly are.
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FiveSigmas - I would agree they are a smaller op and it is probably more than small nitpick, however for pure recreational purposes or simple academic or even low level financial analysis it is more than adequate.
But thnk you for pointing out the white paper, I'm sure most people have just been viewing the map. As with anything do your own due diligence. You clearly are.
I have to admit that I was curious because I didn't remember answering that detailed a questionnaire for the census. It's certainly still a neat (and nicely presented) set of data, though.
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Wonder if it went up or down since 2012.
$408,009 =615% of the National ave.?
202 of 437 homes in block have net over 500k
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I like that at different zoom levels the data is aggregated to different geographies.
Any idea the wealthiest county in the country?
I would have guessed Loudon Co, VA or Bucks County, PA. Bucks isn't even close, it turns out. Loudon Co is probably #2 (at median net worth of $345k). The wealthiest appears (I might have missed clicking a dark green box) to be Hunterdon County, NJ. "The median net worth of households in this county in 2012 was $414,425, or 625% of the national average."
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Almost every block in the NOVA area reads 500,001.
Not in My corner of NoVA. My block group has a reported median of $259,900, and a nearby block group shows $10,817 (16% of the national average).
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This is awesome! Thanks for this!
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This is awesome! Thanks for this!
Glad you like it, your welcome.
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Fun! My neighborhood is $9,259. And it lists 0 people over $250k (we just moved in.) That, my friends, is the secret to feeling rich. Having 55x the median net worth of your neighborhood.
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Fun! My neighborhood is $9,259. And it lists 0 people over $250k (we just moved in.) That, my friends, is the secret to feeling rich. Having 55x the median net worth of your neighborhood.
My neighborhood is quiet the opposite we have 418 households of 565 in the top category over $500,001... I'm surrounded by millionaires and multi-millionaires. We are in the top category, I feel bad for the people in my neighborhood with next to no net worth, they are clearly just trying to keep up with the "Joneses". There are about 20 households with under $20k in my neighborhood, the rest I don't recall. The majority of my neighborhood is more older, everyone is at least mid 30's to 70's
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"The median net worth of households in this block group in 2012 was $349,976, or 528% of the national average."
We are certainly not at that level. Just starting down the path to FI. I expect us to far exceed that within 10 years.
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I'm a little surprised. My block group includes a bunch of newer townhomes and a number of low rent duplexes and apartments in addition to a good number of single family homes in my neighborhood. Other than the "below$15000 NW" bin, it's a fairly even distribution between the other NW bins. The $500,000+ bin has about as many people as the $15,000 to $35,000 bin and all the other bins in between. That's a sign of a rather socioeconomically diverse area, which would describe the neighborhood well. Lots of recent immigrants, young families or couples, older retirees, professionals, blue collar workers, etc. Me and 71 other people in my block group have NW's over $500k. Not really surprising given the number of 70-80 year old retirees, a few early retirees, and small business owners. And having a paid off house here would get you to about $150k or so.
Overall, my block group has a median NW of $75,000, or 114% of the national average. This isn't surprising, but the "nice part of town" with the $500,000+ median net worths (where 90%+ of the residents fall in the $500k+ bin) is only 1.1 mile from my neighborhood of dirt cheap homes. I bet they are pissed I can walk to their neighborhood and I can shop in the stores where they shop! ;)
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Sweet Jesus, my neighborhood ('burbs of boston) is a smidge over 500K. I need to get out of here, I'm only 2x richer than other people.
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For my "Block Group" its $10k - but that includes 5 blocks, most of which are SFR. My actual block, and across the street, are all apartments, and I suspect the average of just these would be a lot closer to $0.
Either way, if I'm only comparing to local Jones, I'm doing pretty good.
The whole Bay Area is pretty interesting - we don't seem to have much middle class, most of the 9 county area is maxed out at one color extreme or the other.
I'm particularly surprised at the 15k or less average of most of Berkeley CA, given the $737,500 median home sale price.
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My block is ~$50k, but it's right next to a lot of $500k+s! It's crazy how geographically close the rich neighborhoods can be to the poorer ones
This is a very interesting map. :)
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If you liked this map you might also like the map I posted in this thread too...
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/compare-your-income-to-your-neighbors/ (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/compare-your-income-to-your-neighbors/)
-Mister FancyPants
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My block is ~$50k, but it's right next to a lot of $500k+s! It's crazy how geographically close the rich neighborhoods can be to the poorer ones
This is a very interesting map. :)
That's like my 'hood and the rich neighborhoods near me. I get to enjoy the benefits of a nice area generally, but only pay to live in the much lower cost housing here in my 'hood.
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It shows up when you click on the colors.
You make it sound so obvious. ;)
$18000 net worth. Word.
I followed the directions and also do not see the numerical data. What am I missing? I tried to "click on the colors," but I am not sure what that is referencing.
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Wow. I'm surprised such detailed information is available.
There's a ton of data like this out there. I use even more granular data that attempts to map it down to individual households and even persons for most of the US. Age, income, education, mortgage amount, magazine subscriptions, etc. Accuracy is often questionable... but its there and a little scary.
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This is very interesting... My block is a mix of 2 different developments (all small houses/townhouses under 1200 sq ft), a mall, and an small industrial complex. The average net worth is $36,230 but of the 31% of the block has a net worth over $100,000 and 10% has over $500,000 net worth. There's a bunch of thousandaires next door in this neighborhood apparently.
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Wow. I'm surprised such detailed information is available.
There's a ton of data like this out there. I use even more granular data that attempts to map it down to individual households and even persons for most of the US. Age, income, education, mortgage amount, magazine subscriptions, etc. Accuracy is often questionable... but its there and a little scary.
If you have any links with data you would like to share I am sure it would not be unappreciated.
Thanks,
-Mister FancyPants
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It's rather expensive data, not really available as a link anywhere.
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It's rather expensive data, not really available as a link anywhere.
I might be interested in paying for some data, what type of sources do you use, feel free to PM me if you would rather not discuss freely.
Thanks,
-Mister FancyPants
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My block is ~$50k, but it's right next to a lot of $500k+s! It's crazy how geographically close the rich neighborhoods can be to the poorer ones
This is a very interesting map. :)
That's like my 'hood and the rich neighborhoods near me. I get to enjoy the benefits of a nice area generally, but only pay to live in the much lower cost housing here in my 'hood.
Kinda like my place, although I probably don't have any rich neighbors. My street is a mix of nice homes and ghetto-looking apartments. If I start walking away from downtown, the homes get nicer, bigger, and cleaner fast; if I walk towards town it gets more ghetto. Median net worth in my area is ~$11K. Walk up the hill 10 minutes and it's ~$148K.
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Very interesting map! Our neighborhood is in the $350K range, so we are probably slightly behind, but then, I'd venture that we're below the median age by at least a decade. Our old neighborhood is at $113K, which surprised me (thought it would be lower), but perhaps there are some retirees who've owned there since the 70's and have some NW.
Huh. Just looked at this again, and we're right in line with our neighborhood for NW. Hopefully we'll surpass it soon!
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My "block" is about 40 square miles, net worth in the 15k - 83k range, with about 60% of the households showing a net worth under 15k on the graph (I know that doesn't fit the range, but I didn't do it. go figure). The big farms seem to be pulling up the average, which makes sense.
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
This would rely on figures form the census and/or the tax department. These figures are available as part of government making their statistics more public. They would not have names attached, and to protect privacy they would only be available in large enough chunks that individuals can not be identified.
In the past decade governments have been under increasing presure to make these types of figures available. In fact there is even an app contest to make good apps in a day(?) with some sets of figures.
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Looks like the net worth of my neighbors is around 160k. I better hurry up and catch up to them! lol
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
This would rely on figures form the census and/or the tax department. These figures are available as part of government making their statistics more public. They would not have names attached, and to protect privacy they would only be available in large enough chunks that individuals can not be identified.
But how do they know my net worth? They know my income from my tax statements. That's all they know.
I got the most intrusive and obnoxious version of the census in 2010. I didn't answer any of the questions except for the number of people who live here (because that is all the US government needs to know according to the Constitution), but I don't think even that ridiculous thing asked my net worth (though I believe it did ask how many toilets I have- because, you know, the Federal government has a compelling need to know how many options I have when I need to take a dump).
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because, you know, the Federal government has a compelling need to know how many options I have when I need to take a dump
The census isn't really the Federal government collecting data for its own purposes - I mean, some of the data is useful to them, but most of the public benefit comes from having (somewhat) reliable public data that anyone can use to answer questions the Federal government might not even realise are worth asking. In the same sense, you don't just write Wikipedia articles because you think Jimmy Wales wants to read them.
That said, I doubt the data comes from the census - I could be wrong, but don't banks have to report basic details to the IRS?
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I live in a more rural area, so my "block" is approx. 32 square miles. But the avg. NW is $75,000-which (now that I'm getting married) we're actually doing worse than, but should be above it by the middle of 2016. I'll be 25 at that point in time, and my SO will be 29. A lot of the population has NW <$15,000...the average is brought up by the smaller group that have >$500,000 NW. I"m betting all the farmers in the area are in that group, while their employees fall in the lower brackets. Interesting.
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
Your financial institutions have your balances, address ad social security number, it gets reported to the IRS annually for taxes, this get correlated with the census.
The rest is math...
Your personal data is removed from things like this for privacy, but this is how public statistics are calculated.
-Mister FancyPants
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
From looking at my neighborhood and others, it appears as if the net worth calculation is accurate +- $5,000,000. It taps out at 501,000. Not overly accurate or useful. It is probably used to determine mailing list for payday loans or luxury yachts.
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The median net worth of households in this block group in 2012 was $20,859, or 31% of the national average.
I live on the border with a dark blue neighborhood.
It seems pretty much every neighborhood I've lived in is in the 15K to 83K group, even the ones in wealthier cities.
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
This would rely on figures form the census and/or the tax department. These figures are available as part of government making their statistics more public. They would not have names attached, and to protect privacy they would only be available in large enough chunks that individuals can not be identified.
But how do they know my net worth? They know my income from my tax statements. That's all they know.
I got the most intrusive and obnoxious version of the census in 2010. I didn't answer any of the questions except for the number of people who live here (because that is all the US government needs to know according to the Constitution), but I don't think even that ridiculous thing asked my net worth (though I believe it did ask how many toilets I have- because, you know, the Federal government has a compelling need to know how many options I have when I need to take a dump).
I made an honest attempt to report my income, assets, NW, etc correctly on the census. I bet there's a lot of other folks out there that don't mind sharing data anonymously. The census does sampling, so over the hundreds of respondents to the long form from a given census tract or BG, they are getting decent info in the aggregate.
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
Your financial institutions have your balances, address ad social security number, it gets reported to the IRS annually for taxes, this get correlated with the census.
The rest is math...
Your personal data is removed from things like this for privacy, but this is how public statistics are calculated.
-Mister FancyPants
I'm pretty sure your account balance is NOT reported to the IRS, only interest, dividends, and capital gains.
It would be quite a trick for the IRS to analyze my ~15-20 accounts based on name, address, and income alone, and come up with an accurate net worth. Even if they had the time and skill to back calculate the value of my holdings based solely on my income from that year, they would be missing several key pieces of information, such as how long I'd had that account, how much switching I did between accounts (and across firms). Could someone with skill and time make a pretty good estimate based on that limited information? Perhaps, but I don't think IRS personnel have either. Certainly not enough time to work that calculation for hundreds of millions of people.
More likely, they are estimating using sampling data (as someone else here mentioned) from people who willingly give them information.
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The site is down right now, but I'd love to know how they determined "net worth."
No one in "real life" knows my net worth other than my parents. A few close friends know I've got some money, but they have no idea how much. How does someone determine "net worths" of families or neighborhoods?
This would rely on figures form the census and/or the tax department. These figures are available as part of government making their statistics more public. They would not have names attached, and to protect privacy they would only be available in large enough chunks that individuals can not be identified.
But how do they know my net worth? They know my income from my tax statements. That's all they know.
I got the most intrusive and obnoxious version of the census in 2010. I didn't answer any of the questions except for the number of people who live here (because that is all the US government needs to know according to the Constitution), but I don't think even that ridiculous thing asked my net worth (though I believe it did ask how many toilets I have- because, you know, the Federal government has a compelling need to know how many options I have when I need to take a dump).
I made an honest attempt to report my income, assets, NW, etc correctly on the census. I bet there's a lot of other folks out there that don't mind sharing data anonymously. The census does sampling, so over the hundreds of respondents to the long form from a given census tract or BG, they are getting decent info in the aggregate.
The "confidential" information you send to the IRS is confidential until it isn't.
I don't trust them, and in my opinion, neither should you.
60+ years after the fact, the US Census Bureau finally admitted that they used "confidential" census information to help the US government roundup American citizens of Japanese ancestry.
Confidential census information has been used for similar (and worse) atrocities in other nations- including "civilized" Republics like ours.
Don't think it can't happen again.
When the Census packet comes here, whether the short form, or the extraordinarily intrusive long form, I just give them the number of bodies living here, then paste Article !, Section 2 of the US Constitution over the rest. Article 1, Section 2, makes it clear that the Census is to COUNT BODIES for the purpose determining Congressional districts.
They don't need to know your race, net worth, religion, or toilet habits to apportion Congressional districts.
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Need this in Canada, ASAP. I love s&% like this.
I suspect that Canadian net worth is a fair bit higher on average - we never had a housing correction, though many pundits are predicting one at any moment.
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My next door neighbor donate a million dollars to the YMCA.
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Thanks for the link Mister Fancypants!
I discovered that I live in the lowest net worth section of my town. Like RootofGood I have a spike in the lowest category and then a pretty even row of ~ 50 in each of the other categories, and a smaller peak of 79 in the $500K+ category. Our median is $46,000. It was an interesting fact check.
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My area:
The median net worth of households in this block group in 2012 was $500,001, or 754% of the national average.
Apparently that is the highest bracket, I cannot find anything over that number on the map.
I guess it's good it be in an area with oil and agriculture.
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There is no way my immediate neighbors's net worth is anywhere north of $100k. It is all rentals and I am still getting all kinds of collection/court notices for the last THREE going back tenants who lived in the home. No address forwarding because they obviously did NOT want to be found. :p
Now some neighbors further out from me, maybe, but I suspect a lot of the net worth is tied up in real estate values.
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Most of my neighbors are driving cars worth more than the median net worth...
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My neighborhood is 15K or less. In one of the wealthiest counties in the country . . .
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$361,912 in my neighborhood or 547% of the national average. That sounds about right. In New Jersey, that's considered decently middle class.
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Median net worth of my block group is $11,770 - not surprising, as the majority of residences are apartments. People are young and/or transient. There are 17 people with a net worth of over $500,000. I figure they live in the fancy new highrise with luxury penthouses over on the next street. I'm going back to the map to explore a little more.
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The results for my area are interesting but not especially surprising. Average net worth is listed as about $11,000, which is a little ways under my current net worth.
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My neighborhood median is under 10k, with less than 100 people above 35K. Looks like I am the rich neighbor!