III. Who We Are

Do the better educated work less?

Do the rich live longer?

Who is most likely to smoke?

Does money equate to happiness?

How broke are today’s graduates?

What do we do in our free time?

[The following text appears within 5 charts. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual charts.]

THE 5%

HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $200K+

ERIC STRAUS, 54

I was born in New York City, the youngest of four kids. My dad owned radio stations in New York, and my mother founded a group to protect tenants in landlord disputes. I became a serial entrepreneur. In 1999, advertisers were complaining about not being able to find good employees. So I started a dotcom business to serve them. I’m pretty good at building and selling businesses but pretty bad at investing the proceeds. I’m the only person I know who ever lost money in Manhattan real estate. So I’m very conservative.

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME

$332,960 is 6.5 times the median national household income of $51,371

INCOME GROWTH

80% Percentage this group’s income has increased since 1975

THESE EARNERS

EDUCATION

99% have a high school diploma

83% have a bachelor’s degree or higher

HEALTH

$30,000 Annual fee to keep a doctor on retainer for a family of three in New York City

SMOKING

12% Percentage of this group who smoke

HAPPINESS

41% say they are “very happy”

DEATH

89 Expected age at death

THEIR CHILDREN

SAT SCORES

1151 Average SAT score of students from these households

DRUGS

31% of kids in this group have tried pot by age 16

SEX

32% have had sex by age 16

CRIME

11% have been charged with an adult crime by age 24

THEIR LIFESTYLE

LEISURE

12,111 Number of registered private jets

HOME

3,234 Median square footage of a $1 million home in the U.S.

WEALTH

0.0001% Percentage of the U.S. population made up of the 400 wealthiest individuals

$2 trillion

Combined net worth of the 0.0001%

NOTES ON PAGE 60

THE 17%

HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $100K–$199K

AYANA DAVIS HERNANDEZ, 38

My parents were both middle-school guidance counselors and made education a priority. I left college debt free. After attending Spelman College in Atlanta, I got my first job at Essence magazine. It paid ridiculously little, but I loved it. In 2002, I went to graduate school to go into communications, and I now work as director of public relations at North Carolina Central University. I’ve learned that it’s important to save for the future and education.

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME

$134,520 is 2.6 times the median national household income

INCOME GROWTH

56% Percentage this group’s income has increased since 1975

THESE EARNERS

EDUCATION

99% have a high school diploma

74% have a bachelor’s degree or higher

HEALTH

$49 Average monthly price of a gym membership

SMOKING

10% Percentage of this group who smoke

HAPPINESS

38% say they are “very happy”

DEATH

87 Expected age at death

THEIR CHILDREN

SAT SCORES

1094 Average SAT score of students from these households

DRUGS

33% of kids in this group have tried pot by age 16

SEX

41% have had sex by age 16

CRIME

12% have been charged with an adult crime by age 24

THEIR LIFESTYLE

WHEELS

1% don’t own a car

CHANCE

$176 Average annual amount spent by lotto players in this group

VOTING

78% voted in the last presidential election

CHILD CARE

$36,660 Average annual cost of a full-time nanny

THE 22%

HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $60K–$99K

JAMES K. BARATH, 42

I was born in Seoul with polio. In Korean culture, disability makes you second class. My parents lived in Lowell, Ind., a rural community, when they adopted me. As a kid, I didn’t know any minorities. When I was in college, I met somebody in the mortgage industry who hired me to dig through old files for refinancing opportunities. That’s how I found my calling. I was one of five kids, and we didn’t have much growing up. There was a time we were on welfare. That’s why now I do everything I do for my son. You have to live within your means and not the standards established by others.

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME

$77,158 is 50% more than the median national household income

INCOME GROWTH

24% Percentage this group’s income has increased since 1975

THESE EARNERS

EDUCATION

98% have a high school diploma

56% have a bachelor’s degree or higher

HEALTH

$272 Average price of a pair of eyeglasses

SMOKING

15% Percentage of this group who smoke

HAPPINESS

36% say they are “very happy”

DEATH

85 Expected age at death

THEIR CHILDREN

SAT SCORES

1036 Average SAT score of students from these households

DRUGS

34% of kids in this group have tried pot by age 16

SEX

46% have had sex by age 16

CRIME

15% have been charged with an adult crime by age 24

THEIR LIFESTYLE

PHONES

81% own a smartphone

NETWORKING

34% of adults earning at least $75,000 use LinkedIn

YOU

$72,131 Median household income of a TIME magazine reader in the U.S.

THE 26%

HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $30K–$59K

ASHLEY AHRENS, 25

I grew up in a military family and moved around a lot. I was the second of four kids, and even in high school, when I worked at Papa John’s, I knew I wanted to make a good salary and have good job security. That’s why I became a radiologic technologist. I’m definitely a spender, without question. I recently opened a savings account, and I have a 401(k). I try to always have money for a rainy day, but I don’t think I’ve quite learned how yet.

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME

$43,555 is 20% less than the nation’s median household income

INCOME GROWTH

12% Percentage this group’s income has increased since 1975

THESE EARNERS

EDUCATION

95% have a high school diploma

35% have a bachelor’s degree or higher

HEALTH

$1,233 Median hospital charge for an ER visit

SMOKING

20% Percentage of this group who smoke

HAPPINESS

28% say they are “very happy”

DEATH

83 Expected age at death

THEIR CHILDREN

SAT SCORES

987 Average SAT score of students from these households

DRUGS

37% of kids in this group have tried pot by age 16

SEX

54% have had sex by age 16

CRIME

18% have been charged with an adult crime by age 24

THEIR LIFESTYLE

LEISURE

$3,500 Cost of a week- long visit to Walt Disney World for a family of four

FOOD

2.3 This group’s average weekly fast-food-restaurant visits

SERVICE

61% of military recruits come from areas in this income bracket

JOBS

$56,383 Average salary of a public-school teacher

THE 30%

HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN $29K

ROGIEMA CABUTOTAN CAMPOS, 35

I was born in the Philippines and came to the U.S. in 1987. My parents were seasonal farmworkers picking asparagus. At the time, I didn’t understand why they were so strict. When I was 18, I ran away and ended up in an emergency shelter. If I had listened to my parents and gone to college, I wouldn’t be struggling. I was in a program for people on welfare that offered career help. It was hard. Now I try to save as much as I can. After I pay my bills and take care of the kids, I save the rest.

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME

$16,095 is less than a third of the median national household income

INCOME GROWTH

7% Percentage this group’s income has increased since 1975

THESE EARNERS

EDUCATION

85% have a high school diploma

20% have a bachelor’s degree or higher

HEALTH

$2,244 Average amount a woman pays to have a baby

SMOKING

28% Percentage of this group who smoke

HAPPINESS

26% say they are “very happy”

DEATH

79 Expected age at death

THEIR CHILDREN

SAT SCORES

897 Average SAT score of students from these households

DRUGS

34% of kids in this group have tried pot by age 16

SEX

61% have had sex by age 16

CRIME

21% have been charged with an adult crime by age 24

THEIR LIFESTYLE

PHONES

47% own a smartphone

CHANCE $400

Average annual amount spent by lotto players in this group

FOOD

$4.45 Average food-stamp benefit per recipient per day

TRAVEL

37% have never flown on a plane

SOURCES: INCOME AND EDUCATION: CENSUS; HEALTH: MD2; IHRSA; THE VISION COUNCIL; PLOS ONE; TRUVEN HEALTH ANALYTICS; SMOKING: GALLUP; HAPPINESS: PEW RESEARCH CENTER; DEATH: BROOKINGS INSTITUTION; SAT: THE COLLEGE BOARD; DRUGS, SEX AND CRIME: URBAN INSTITUTE; LIFESTYLE: CENSUS; CORPORATE JET INVESTOR; ZILLOW; FORBES; DOT; JOURNAL OF GAMBLING STUDIES; NANNIES INTERNATIONAL; PEW RESEARCH CENTER; FODOR’S TRAVEL; J. PAUL LEIGH, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS; HERITAGE FOUNDATION; DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; CENTER ON BUDGET & POLICY PRIORITIES.

ALL CLASSES: INCOME GROWTH IS ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION. SAT SCORES ARE COMBINED MATH AND READING. DATA PERTAIN TO HOUSEHOLD INCOME EXCEPT EDUCATION AND SMOKING, WHICH REFER TO PERSONAL INCOME.

THE 5%: SMOKING IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $240,000 OR MORE; HAPPINESS IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $150,000 OR MORE. LIFE EXPECTANCY IS FOR MALES WHO WERE IN THE TOP 10% OF EARNERS AT MIDCAREER. DRUGS, SEX AND CRIME ARE BASED ON THOSE WITH FAMILY INCOMES AT LEAST EIGHT TIMES THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL. HOME SIZE PERTAINS TO SINGLE-FAMILY, CONDO AND CO-OP LISTINGS ON ZILLOW.

THE 17%: SMOKING IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $120,000 TO $240,000; HAPPINESS IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $100,000 TO $150,000. LIFE EXPECTANCY IS FOR MALES WHO WERE IN THE 80TH PERCENTILE OF EARNERS AT MIDCAREER. SAT SCORES ARE FOR THOSE IN HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $160,000 TO $200,000. DRUGS, SEX AND CRIME ARE BASED ON FAMILY INCOMES FOUR TO EIGHT TIMES THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL. LOTTERY SPENDING IS BASED ON THE TOP 20% OF EARNERS IN 2002.

THE 22%: SMOKING IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $60,000 TO $120,000; HAPPINESS IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $75,000 TO $100,000. LIFE EXPECTANCY IS FOR MALES WHO WERE IN THE 60TH PERCENTILE OF EARNERS AT MIDCAREER. SAT SCORES ARE FOR THOSE IN HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $80,000 TO $100,000. DRUGS, SEX AND CRIME ARE BASED ON FAMILY INCOMES 2.5 TO FOUR TIMES THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL. PHONE OWNERSHIP IS BASED ON ADULTS IN HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $75,000 OR MORE. NETWORKING IS BASED ON INTERNET USERS WITH HOUSEHOLD INCOMES FROM $75,000 TO $100,000.

THE 26%: SMOKING IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $36,000 TO $60,000; HAPPINESS IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING $30,000 TO $50,000. LIFE EXPECTANCY IS CALCULATED FOR MALES WHO WERE IN THE 40TH PERCENTILE OF EARNERS AT MIDCAREER. SAT SCORES ARE FOR THOSE IN HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $40,000 TO $60,000. DRUGS, SEX AND CRIME ARE BASED ON FAMILY INCOMES 1.5 TO 2.5 TIMES THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL. FAST-FOOD MEALS ARE BASED ON FAMILIES MAKING $40,000 TO $50,000.

THE 30%: SMOKING IS BASED ON THOSE MAKING LESS THAN $36,000. LIFE EXPECTANCY IS FOR MALES WHO WERE IN THE BOTTOM DECILE OF EARNERS AT MIDCAREER. SAT SCORES ARE FOR THOSE IN HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN $20,000. DRUGS, SEX AND CRIME ARE BASED ON FAMILY INCOMES 1.5 TIMES THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL OR LESS. LOTTERY SPENDING IS BASED ON THE BOTTOM 20% OF EARNERS IN 2002. TRAVEL DATA IS FROM 2003. OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS TO HAVE A BABY ARE FOR THOSE WITH HEALTH INSURANCE WHO DELIVER VAGINALLY.