That's kind of misleading. How many Californians still owe on their mortgages and their cars? Or any other state for that matter. Many people have negative equity on their assets. They owe more than their stuff is worth. The medium income is about $50k in America. I don't know much about Australia. If they make $400k/year, it's in a devalued currency.
In Italy the large majority of the population, more than 80%, lives in houses of their property. But usually the property is of 1 member of the family. So making a mean of adult Italian ... 1/2 house 1 car some golden objects money in investments the insurance for the end of the job. You reach a mean of about 250,000 euro or 315,000 US dollars.
sir, you should be able to understand that, if a person has $400,000 , it does not mean that his salary is $400,000 per year. - - - Updated - - - This is a clear answer, it is about 400,000 australian dollars.
on a house you subtract the mortgage for your tptal worth...so if you own a home that list at 500k and have a mortgage of 100k then you have 400k in total value..
I understand this but your question was not clear. Do you want net worth the average American or their net worth at retirement age? I understand. I have some equity in my house also, but too many people are caught in 2nd and 3rd mortgages and are borrowing more money than they should. We have a huge debt problem in America. Just look at credit card and student loan debt. http://www.moneyrelationship.com/retirement/the-average-net-worth-of-americans-where-do-you-stand/
anyone who is in debt like that has a spending problem..a severe problem...its their own fault..no one elses...
As examples: My oldest son's best friend has nothing of value and is about to start the last semester toward his engineering degree. He has about $100k in student debt hanging over his head. He'll do well. He'll put his nose to the grindstone and live frugally until he can pay his debt off. That's how he was raised. His parents have health issues and could not help him through college and he was not phsically fit for military service and the resulting education assistance. I am 47. I have recently switched to a low interest (2.75%) 15 year mortgage and will have my house payed off by the time I am 58. I have about $70k in house equity and about $20k in car equity and ony $40k in savings. That will change soon, as my boys are growing up and leaving home. My expenses are shrinking and I will be able to save more. That's about $130k net worth. My uncle bought his house in CA 35 years ago. His property taxes are low because they grandfathered in the low rate and raised taxes on all of the young people. His home value also shot up over the years. His modest house is worth about $700k and is smaller than my $200k house in TX. He is a retired bank VP and has never had kids. They travel the world regularly and act like money is no object. His wife is also retired and they didn't marry until they were in their 40s. I'd guess their net worth to be well over $1M, but it's not something I would ask them. So you see that networth is a result of the accumulation of life decisions and all I can do is google the averages. (borrowing practices, having kids, education and job choices, savings discipline)
I agree, but they still affect the averages and the taxpayer always somehow gets stuck with the debt. (bailouts, bankruptcies, welfare for the lazy, etc....)
