You’re right. In the “Wealth and Mobility” section they seem to be using wealth and not income.

In the “Education and Mobility” section, I drew the inference they were using income instead of wealth. But after reviewing again (”re-reviewing”?), it’s not clear whether they’re using wealth or income.

I would think they would try to be consistent throughout the study. So maybe they’re using wealth everywhere.

Thanks for your comment.

The statement that 36% of the lowest quintile remain there and that 36% of highest quintile remain there does seem to take into account wealth, not income.

Great point. I reviewed the press release and it looks like they were using income and not wealth. Your point is valid.

A recent law school graduate is a perfect example. He/she might have a high annual income but have a mountain of debt and a negative net worth (a painfully familiar example).

The flip side is a low income household with high net worth. Many recent retirees would fall into this category. Or someone that inherited a large amount of money.

Thanks for your comment.

It’s important not to confuse income and wealth. The top quintile of household income for families last year starts with families earning about $90k, and 3/4 of those households have two wage earners.

Thus, we’re talking about at least households with two high school teachers, or a store manager and a skilled mechanic, hardly “wealthy”.

Wealth is about assets beyond income… stock, property, trust funds, and wealth is highly concentrated among the very top earners - the top 1%-2%.

The data for people in the top quintile of wealth will be quite different from that of the top quintile of income.