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Why Are Married Couples With Kids Wealthier Than Other Americans?
Townhall.com ^ | October 14, 2015 | Terry Jeffrey

Posted on 10/14/2015 10:35:24 AM PDT by Kaslin

When the Census Bureau recently released its 2014 data on household income in the United States, the numbers once again pointed to a basic trend that this nation's liberal political and cultural elite has no interest in publicizing.

Married people with children generally do better financially than other Americans.

As previously noted in this column, this was true in 2013. We now know it remained true in 2014. The overall median household income in the United States in 2014 was $53,657.

Female householders in a nonfamily household had a median income of $26,673, according to the Census Bureau's Table HINC-01. Male householders in a nonfamily household had a median income of $39,181. Unmarried-couple households with children under 18 had a median income of $50,283, according to Table HINC-04, and unmarried-couple households with no children under 18 had a median income of $64,645.

But married-couple households with no children under 18 had a median income of $76,000, and married-couple households with children under 18 had a median income of $87,728.

In deriving its household income numbers, the Census considers a family "a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together." An "unmarried couple" household "is composed of two unrelated adults of the opposite sex (one of whom is the householder) who share a housing unit with or without the presence of children under 15 years old."

A married-couple household is composed of "a husband and wife enumerated as members of the same household."

Not surprisingly, Americans tend to have higher incomes in middle age than in youth or old age, and married couples tend to follow this trend along a higher income line than other types of households.

The overall median income was $34,605 for householders 24 or younger in 2014, according to the Census Bureau's Table HINC-02. It peaked at $72,532 for householders 45 to 49, and declined to $28,535 for householders 75 or older.

For female householders living alone at 24 and under, the median income was only $16,992. That rose to a peak of $37,908 for females living alone at 40 to 44, and then fell to $18,237 for females living alone at 75 or older.

For male householders living alone at 24 and under, the median income was $25,303. That rose to a peak of $45,525 for males living alone at 30 to 34 and then fell to $29,514 for males living alone at 75 or older.

Nonfamily households -- which consist "of a householder living alone (a one-person household) or where the householder shares the home exclusively with people to whom he/she is not related" -- did slightly better.

Their median income when the householder was 24 or younger was $31,018, rose to a peak of $50,929 for householders 30 to 34, and dropped to $19,652 for householders 75 or older.

Yet among married-couple families where the householder was 24 or younger, the median income was $43,815 in 2014. That rose to a peak of $101,434 when the householder was 45 to 49, and declined only to $49,924 when the householder was 75 or older.

The Census Bureau also divided American households into five equal brackets, ranked from lowest to highest, according to their incomes. It then showed (in Table HINC-05) what percentage of each type of household fell into which bracket.

Married-couple families were the most likely to be in the top bracket (32.4 percent were there) and least likely to be in the lowest (7 percent). Among nonfamily households, 35.3 percent were in the bottom bracket and 8.2 percent were in the highest.

A large majority of married-couple families -- 58.8 percent -- were in the top two brackets. An even larger majority of nonfamily households -- 60.8 percent -- were in the bottom two brackets.

Why do Americans who maintain traditional families generally do so well compared to other Americans?

Surely, there are many practical reasons. But ultimately, it is the force of love, not greed, that drives them into the top income brackets.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: censusbureau; family; marriage
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1 posted on 10/14/2015 10:35:24 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
Why do Americans who maintain traditional families generally do so well compared to other Americans?
Maybe to some extent, people who do well can afford to maintain traditional families.

2 posted on 10/14/2015 10:39:50 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion ('Liberalism' is a conspiracy against the public by wire-service journalism.)
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To: Kaslin

Because kids are expensive, and therefore you have to work more? You also have to budget and save more intensely wherever you can, and that sometimes allow you to come out ahead when your bills come in lower.

Just a guess.


3 posted on 10/14/2015 10:39:52 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: Kaslin
Why Are Married Couples With Kids Wealthier Than Other Americans?

because I break my @ss to support my family and then are too tired to spend my money when I'm not working.

4 posted on 10/14/2015 10:41:22 AM PDT by NativeSon ( Grease the floor with Crisco when I dance the Disco)
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To: Kaslin

Married couples with two incomes tend to earn more than single people with one income. This is shocking... what a startling discovery. I wonder how this can be?


5 posted on 10/14/2015 10:43:19 AM PDT by Cementjungle
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To: Kaslin

But the dems are all bemoaning the death of the middle class while at the same time encouraging the breakup of the family. I tried for many years to explain to people seeking divorce that his/her standard of living would drop, often precipitously. No amount of child support, maintenance, and government assistance would prop up the standard of living. The only times I saw it happen was when there was a private disability policy that one of the parties began drawing at or around the time of the divorce.


6 posted on 10/14/2015 10:45:12 AM PDT by Mercat (You don't recommend better diet and exercise for a shark bite.)
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To: conservatism_IS_compassion

Kids make you want to work.


7 posted on 10/14/2015 10:45:26 AM PDT by xzins (HAVE YOU DONATED TO THE FREEPATHON? https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Kaslin
Married couples, especially those with children, would tend to demonstrate a greater sense of responsibility (hey they got married instead of shacking up or abandoning) and they are less prone to drunkenness and drugs, otherwise they become unmarried. This is likely to be reflected in their work ethic and motivation to do well at work, in life and as an example to their children. Employers would tend to value responsible individuals more highly and this is reflected in the compensation.
8 posted on 10/14/2015 10:46:49 AM PDT by Teotwawki (For a person to get a thing without paying for it, another must pay for it without getting it.)
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To: Kaslin

Isn’t this obvious...because each child is a tax saving deduction?


9 posted on 10/14/2015 10:47:18 AM PDT by rhoda_penmark
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To: Kaslin

Clearly need to tax married couples at a higher rate.


10 posted on 10/14/2015 10:47:39 AM PDT by Gamecock (Preach the gospel daily, use words if necessary is like saying Feed the hungry use food if necessary)
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To: Kaslin

Simple answer. Because we have to work harder and longer than our counterparts to maintain some semblance of income equality since we get nothing from the government.


11 posted on 10/14/2015 10:54:16 AM PDT by jwalsh07 (.)
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To: Kaslin

Thank goodness I didn’t follow the trend. I’ve been a single dad since 1989, I raised 4 kids (all on their own now). I am and have been quite happy with my income.


12 posted on 10/14/2015 10:55:36 AM PDT by umgud (v)
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To: Kaslin

Read “Coming Apart” by Charles Murray. He spells this all out, and more.

Basically, “traditional morality” was cast aside by the elites of America in the 1960’s - but hypocritically, they mostly did not take on such new lifestyles for themselves. Traditional marriage, educational achievement, traditional gender roles, non-drug use, work ethic, etc... remained much the same - for upper income families.

Meanwhile, those things which gave stability and upward mobility to poor, or blue-collar citizens - strong family above all, strong church/social ties, strong shaming and prohibitions on particular social behaviors, all have been destroyed by American society, starting in the 1960s. The poor are now rudderless at sea.


13 posted on 10/14/2015 10:55:53 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: Kaslin

Married Couple Privilege. It must be abolished.


14 posted on 10/14/2015 11:02:06 AM PDT by needmorePaine
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To: Kaslin

Somewhere between respect and responsibility, you’ll find your answer :)


15 posted on 10/14/2015 11:02:48 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal (This Hispanic wants a wall, the National Guard, and turrets guarding our border)
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To: xzins

The best things in life are free, especially enjoying time playing.


16 posted on 10/14/2015 11:04:50 AM PDT by huldah1776
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To: PGR88

When I worked at an extremely (and very famous) liberal foundation as a youth, I was surprised how conservative the program officers were in their private lives. Advocated all kinds of evil policies for the poor and lower middle class while being completely drug free, highly educated, married with a stable family and income. Hypocrites.


17 posted on 10/14/2015 11:05:57 AM PDT by miss marmelstein (Richard the Third: I'd like to drive away not only the Turks (moslims) but all my foes.")
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To: Kaslin

When the couple commits to each other and their children, they save and invest more than two people just living together with kids.
When they are just living together, even with kids, each engages in self-protective behavior like private savings and less investment in all forms from college savings to retirement savings.


18 posted on 10/14/2015 11:07:19 AM PDT by tbw2
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To: Cementjungle
Married couples with two incomes tend to earn more than single people with one income. This is shocking... what a startling discovery. I wonder how this can be?
White privilege? Bush's fault? Income inequality? Water on Mars?
19 posted on 10/14/2015 11:07:40 AM PDT by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: Kaslin

Because that is a classically stable and successful union.

A good Marriage typically requires conservative ideals of some kind, a sense of responsibility, and hard work.

They also plan for the future because they have responsibilities.

Such people also make good employees and entrepreneurs.


20 posted on 10/14/2015 11:08:40 AM PDT by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem)
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