What's Up with Americans' Low Well-Being?

Well-being fell in 21 states in 2017, according to a Gallup survey, a record decline surpassing the 15-state drop in 2009. No state saw an improvement in well-being—the first time without a winner since Gallup started tracking well-being by state in 2008. Gallup's well-being index is based on a number of questions probing five areas: sense of purpose, social support, financial security, sense of community, and physical health.

On a scale of 0 to 100, national well-being fell to 61.5 in 2017, down from 62.1 in 2016 and "the largest year-over-year decline since the index began in 2008," according to Gallup. Among states with declines in well-being, the metrics that worsened included...

• more experiencing worry on a given day
• decline in reports of receiving positive energy from friends and family members
• decline in those who have a leader who makes them "enthusiastic about the future"

Fifteen of the 21 states with declines in well-being were in the South and West, reports Gallup, and include biggies such as Florida, Texas, and California. The six states in the Northeast and Midwest with declines in well-being included New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio.

Scoring the highest in well-being were South Dakota, Vermont, Hawaii, Minnesota, and North Dakota. At the bottom were West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

Source: Gallup, Record 21 States See Decline in Well-Being in 2017

8% of Americans Experience Depression

Depression is a common condition, according to a National Center for Health Statistics study. Among adults aged 20 or older, 8.1 percent were found to be depressed in a given two-week period of 2013–2016. The NCHS measured depression by administering a nine-item depression screening instrument to a nationally representative sample of the population.

Women are more likely to be depressed (10.4 percent) than men (5.5 percent). Asians are much less likely to be depressed (3.1 percent) than any other race or Hispanic origin group. Interestingly, the prevalence of depression falls as family income increases...

Percent of people aged 20-plus with depression by family income
Less than 100% of poverty level: 15.8%
100% to 199% of poverty level: 10.9%
200% to 399% of poverty level: 7.8%
400% or more of poverty level: 3.5%

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Prevalence of Depression among Adults Aged 20 and Over: United States, 2013–2016

Millennials: A Demographic Bridge

The Millennial generation is "a demographic bridge to America's diverse future," according to a Brookings analysis of the generation by William H. Frey. Millennials (defined as 18-to-34-year-olds) are only 55.8 percent non-Hispanic White. The generations ahead of them are dominated by non-Hispanic Whites (61.5 percent of 35-to-54-year-olds and 75.0 percent of people aged 55-plus). The generation behind them is almost minority majority (51.5 percent of people under age 18 are non-Hispanic White). Millennials are the bridge for this "cultural generation gap" between old and young.

Frey's study calculates the cultural generation gap for states and large metropolitan areas. He defines the gap as the difference between the non-Hispanic White share of the pre-Millennial population (aged 35 or older) minus the non-Hispanic White share of the post-Millennial population (under age 18). Nationally, the gap is 16 percentage points (68 minus 52 percent). But in some states and metropolitan areas, the gap is much larger. By state, the gap is largest in Arizona—27 percentage points (67 minus 40 percent). By metropolitan area, the gap is largest in Cape Coral, Florida—30 percentage points (78 minus 48 percent).

The lasting legacy of Millennials is yet to be determined, says Frey. It will be "based on how successfully they serve as a social, economic, and political bridge to the next racially diverse generation," he concludes.

Source: Brookings, The Millennial Generation: A Demographic Bridge to America's Diverse Future

Household Size by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2017

The average household in the United States is home to 2.54 people. But household size varies by race and Hispanic origin. Hispanics have the largest households and non-Hispanic Whites the smallest...

3.25 people in the average Hispanic household
2.90 people in the average Asian household
2.51 people in the average Black household
2.37 people in the average non-Hispanic White household

The younger age of the Hispanic population (median age = 29) explains their larger household size, with many Hispanics in the family formation years. The older age of the non-Hispanic White population (median age = 43) explains their smaller household size, with many non-Hispanic Whites in the empty-nest lifestage. Non-Hispanic Whites head 70 percent of the nation's single-person households and 74 percent of two-person households. But as household size increases, non-Hispanic Whites are a shrinking share of householders: they head 61 percent of three-person households, 60 percent of four-person households, 53 percent of five-person households, 47 percent of six-person households, and just 41 percent of households with seven or more people.

Source: Census Bureau, 2017 Current Population Survey

How Workers Manage Increases in Health Care Costs

Among American workers aged 21 to 64, health care is the most critical issue in the United States, according to the 2017 EBRI/Greenwald and Associates Health and Workplace Benefits Survey. Thirty-one percent of workers say health care is the number-one issue, well above second-place terrorism, cited by 21 percent.

Most workers consider health insurance extremely important when considering whether to stay with an employer or take a new job. Fully 60 percent say health insurance benefits are extremely important versus a smaller 42 percent who feel that way about retirement benefits.

Nearly half of workers say their health care costs increased in the past year. Among those who reported an increase, here's how they managed the higher cost...

43% decreased their contributions to savings
36% had difficulty paying other bills
34% increased their credit card debt
30% used up most or all of their savings
28% had difficulty paying for basic necessities
27% delayed retirement
26% decreased their contributions to retirement plans
22% borrowed money

Source: Employee Retirement Research Institute and Greenwald and Associates, Workers Rank Health Care as the Most Critical Issue in the United States

Does Delayed Retirement Increase Inequality?

With defined-benefit pensions a thing of the past for most retirees, many older Americans are working longer to allow their retirement savings and Social Security benefits to grow. But will the rising labor force participation of older Americans result in greater income inequality? It already is, according to an analysis by Richard W. Johnson of the Urban Institute. His study examines the growing economic polarization between older Americans healthy enough to delay retirement and continue to work and older Americans whose poor health prevents them from working longer.

Analyzing data from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal survey of Americans aged 50 or older, Johnson's analysis compared the health and economic status of people aged 63 to 65 in 2014 with their counterparts in 1996. Over the time period, the health of people in their early sixties worsened...

• A larger share of 63-to-65-year-olds reported having health-related work limitations in 2014 (31.8 percent) than in 1996 (28.5 percent).
• The trend is most pronounced among the least educated—those who never attended college. Among 63-to-65-year-olds who never attended college, 42.3 percent had health-related work limitations in 2014, up from 33.6 percent in 1996. 
• Among 63-to-65-year-olds who had attended college, 25.5 percent had health-related work limitations, up from 19.6 percent in 1996.

Older Americans with health-related work limitations are falling behind as the healthy work longer and add to their retirement incomes, Johnson finds. Between 1996 and 2014, he says, gains in real, median household income among people in their early sixties were limited to those in robust health. "As older adults have delayed retirement and worked longer, the impact of health status in late working life on retirement income has grown," Johnson concludes. "These finding are particularly concerning as evidence mounts that health status at midlife and older ages is worsening and health disparities by income and education are growing."

Source: Urban Institute, Delayed Retirement and the Growth in Income Inequality at Older Ages

What Happens to Young Adults Who Don't Go To College?

Is going to college pretty much the only path to financial security for today's young adults? That's what is suggested by the results of the National Center for Education Statistics' longitudinal survey of the ninth grade class of 2009. The 2016 follow up, seven years later, provides a disturbing look at the financial situation of those who did not go to college.

A substantial 28 percent of the nation's 2009 ninth graders had not enrolled in a postsecondary institution since graduating from high school, according to the 2016 follow up. When asked why they never went to college, 43 percent cited personal reasons and 42 percent financial.

Anxiety was widespread among these young adults, with 60 percent worried about having enough money to pay for regular expenses. Many depended on parents to get by: 26 percent said their parents regularly helped them pay for their rent or mortgage; 26 percent said their parents regularly helped with health care costs; and 19 percent said their parents regularly helped pay their monthly bills. Among those who were employed, 39 percent reported having an income of less than $10,000 in the previous year.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) Second Follow-Up: A First Look at Fall 2009 Ninth-Graders in 2016

Facts about Child Support

Child support is an important source of income for millions of Americans. That's why the Census Bureau regularly examines the characteristics of those who receive child support and the size of child support payments. Here are the latest findings...

• Of the nation's 83 million children under age 21, more than one in four (27 percent) lives in a custodial-parent family.
• Of the 13.6 million custodial parents, only 50 percent had child support agreements.
• Those with agreements were supposed to receive an average of $5,760 in child support in 2015.
• Among those with agreements, 69 percent received payments in 2015.
• Among those who received payments, the average received was $3,447

When the Census Bureau asked custodial parents without child support agreements why they did not have a formal arrangement, the single biggest response was that the other parent provides what he or she can. 

Source: Census Bureau, Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2015

How Many Millennials Were Born in the United States?

Among Millennials, place of birth varies greatly by race and Hispanic origin, according to the latest bimonthly GenForward Survey. The survey defines Millennials as those aged 18 to 34.

Millennials born in the United States
Whites: 95%
Blacks: 91%
Hispanics: 57%
Asians: 53%

A substantial 26 percent of Asian Millennials are naturalized U.S. citizens, the survey finds. This is a much larger share than in any other group. The figure is only 6 percent among Hispanics, 4 percent among Blacks, and 3 percent among Whites. Eleven percent of Hispanic Millennials say they are undocumented immigrants.

Source: GenForward January 2018—Who Belongs? Millennial Attitudes on Immigration

Average Age at First Birth, 2016

The average age at first birth has reached a new record high, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. At 26.6 years, the average age at first birth was 1.4 years older in 2016 than it was in 2010. The age varies by race and Hispanic origin, however...

Average age at first birth
24.7 for Hispanics
24.8 for Blacks
27.4 for non-Hispanic Whites
30.1 for Asians

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Final Data for 2016

Medicaid Is the Source of Payment for 43% of Births

Having a baby costs a lot—about $10,000 for a normal delivery. Who pays the price? Private health insurance pays 49 percent of the costs of childbirth, reports the National Center for Health Statistics. Medicaid pays almost as much—another 43 percent.

There's a good reason Medicaid funds such a large portion of deliveries. The federal government requires states to provide Medicaid coverage for pregnancy and childbirth for woman whose incomes are below 133 percent of federal poverty level. Because younger women have children, and because younger adults have low incomes, Medicaid often kicks in.

Percentage of births paid for by Medicaid by age of mother
Under age 20: 76.7%
Aged 20 to 24: 63.5%
Aged 25 to 29: 44.0%
Aged 30 to 34: 28.7%
Aged 35 to 39: 27.0%
Aged 40-plus: 29.1%

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Final Data for 2016

Millennial Generation Faces Perfect Storm

For many Millennials, the future may be dire indeed. A perfect storm of more debt, lower earnings, reduced homeownership, less wealth, and skimpier retirement savings relative to older generations suggests that many will experience a third-world standard of living in old age. The Center for Retirement Research reviews many of these concerns in a report examining whether Millennials will be ready for retirement.

"Many of today's workers will have inadequate income when they reach retirement," the report begins, "but the prospects for Millennials seem more challenging than for the generations ahead of them." CRR researchers count the ways millennials are behind. Compared to Gen Xers and late Boomers at the same age...

• Their earnings are lower
• They are less likely to participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan
• They are less likely to be covered by employer-provided health insurance
• They are less likely to be homeowners
• They are more likely to have student loans
• They have accumulated less wealth

"Millennials are well behind other cohorts at the same age even though they will live longer and receive less from Social Security relative to pre-retirement earnings," the report concludes. The only good news is: "retirement is still a long way off for these Millennials."

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Will Millennials Be Ready for Retirement?

First-Time Homebuyer Watch: 4th Quarter 2017

Homeownership rate of householders aged 30 to 34, fourth quarter 2017: 47.1%

Is the long slide over? The homeownership rate of households headed by people aged 30 to 34 climbed to 47.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. This is the highest quarterly rate for the age group since the end of 2014. The 47.1 percent rate is fully 2.5 percentage points above the all-time low of 44.6 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2017. While the homeownership rate of 30-to-34-year-olds appears to have found a new normal in the mid-forties, perhaps the increase is a sign that the early 30s will once again become the age of first-time home buying.  


Historically, homeownership became the norm in the 30-to-34 age group—rising above 50 percent. But beginning in 2007, the homeownership rate of 30-to-34-year-olds went into a tailspin. In the second quarter of 2011, the rate fell below 50 percent for the first time. It's been stuck there ever since. The new age of first-time home buying is 35 to 39, but even this age group has been slipping toward the 50-percent threshold. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the homeownership rate of 35-to-39-year-olds was 56.6 percent, well below the peak of 65.7 percent in the first quarter of 2007.


Nationally, the homeownership rate was 64.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017—the first time the quarterly rate has cracked the 64 percent mark since 2014. But, cautions the Census Bureau, the 64.2 percent rate is not statistically different from the 63.7 percent of one year ago.

Source: Census Bureau, Housing Vacancy Survey

Who Spends the Most Time Eating?

It's not who you think it is. Healthy weight adults (with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.99), spent the most time eating on an average day in 2016, according to an analysis of American Time Use Survey data by the USDA's Economic Research Service. Overweight adults (with a BMI of 25.0 to 29.99) spent less time eating than those with a healthy weight. The low-risk obese (with a BMI of 30.0 to 34.99) spent even less time eating, and the high-risk obese (with a BMI of 35.0 or higher) spent the least time of all.

Minutes per day spent eating by body mass index
Healthy weight: 88
Overweight: 80
Low-risk obese: 79
High-risk obese: 73

The findings are "consistent with patterns from studies in other countries," report the ERS researchers. The higher the BMI, the less time spent eating.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Healthy Weight Adults Spend More Time Eating than Do Overweight and Obese Adults

Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cashiers

More cashiers than cops are murdered on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—54 cashiers and 51 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2016. Of course, the homicide rate is much higher for cops because there are fewer cops than cashiers (708,000 police and sheriff's patrol officers versus 3.3 million cashiers). But the BLS workplace homicide statistics should send a shiver down the spine of any parent whose child is thinking of working a cash register. 

Overall, there were exactly 500 workplace homicides in 2016, up from 417 in 2015. The BLS has compiled a detailed table of gruesome statistics, revealing…

—409 men and 91 women were murdered on the job in 2016

—394 of the homicides were shootings (79 percent)

—152 workplace homicide victims were murdered by a robber

—78 were murdered by a domestic partner or relative (40 percent of the women killed)

—66 were murdered by a co-worker

Although firearms accounted for the great majority of workplace homicides, a wide variety of other instruments were responsible for some of the deaths including 3 murders by rebar, 7 by passenger vehicle, 1 by mallet, and 1 by tarp. 

Among workers at convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, 88 were murdered at work in 2016. Among those working for local law enforcement—including police officers as well as clerical and other staff—57 were killed on the job.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, There were 500 Workplace Homicides in the United States in 2016

Working Longer Is More Powerful than Saving More

Yadda, yadda, yadda...you've heard it all before. Work longer, claim Social Security benefits later, and you will have more money in retirement. You may have heard it before, but you haven't seen evidence as convincing as this. A National Bureau of Economic Research study computes the power of working longer relative to saving more, and it's mind boggling...

• Let's say you're relatively young and want to increase your standard of living in retirement. So you decide to save more in your 401(k). You save 1 percentage-point more for 30 years. How much longer would you need to work to equal 30 years of additional savings? Three months. 
• Let's say you're relatively old and want to increase your standard of living in retirement. So you decide so save more in your 401(k). You save 1 percentage-point more for 10 years. How much longer would you need to work to equal 10 years of additional savings? One month.

There are a number of assumptions and a flurry of calculations behind these numbers, of course, but the bottom line is this: "Our primary conclusion is that working longer is relatively powerful compared to saving more for most people."

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, The Power of Working Longer, Working Paper 24226 ($5)

Fastest-Growing Entertainment Categories

The average household spent $2,913 on entertainment in 2016, only 3 percent more than the $2,828 of 2006, after adjusting for inflation. But spending has surged in some categories over the decade. These are the five entertainment categories with the fastest growth in average household spending between 2006 and 2016, after adjusting for inflation...

1. Streamed and downloaded video: The average household spent just $1.23 on this category in 2006, and $30.06 in 2016—an increase of more than 2,000 percent as streaming and downloading video replaced watching video cassettes and DVDs. 

2. Pets: Average household spending on pets climbed 55 percent between 2006 and 2016. The $586 spent by the average household on pets ranked a lofty 21st among the items on which the average household spent the most in 2016—higher than women's clothes, alcoholic beverages, and internet service.

3. Hunting/fishing equipment. Guns are included in this entertainment category. Between 2006 and 2016, average household spending on hunting/fishing equipment increased 54 percent. The biggest spenders on hunting/fishing equipment are non-Hispanic Whites. Between 2006 and 2016, households headed by non-Hispanic Whites boosted their spending on hunting/fishing equipment by 63 percent.

4. Toys, games, arts and crafts: Average household spending on toys grew 47 percent between 2006 and 2016. While this is an impressive rise, toy spending did not grow as fast as pet spending. In 2016, the average household spent only about one-quarter as much on toys as it spent on pets. 

5. Bicycles: It may be no coincidence that average household spending on bicycles grew by an impressive 46 percent just as spending on new cars and trucks fell 23 percent. The 2006-to-2016 surge in spending on bicycles may explain why bicycle repairer is projected to be the 11th fastest-growing occupation in the decade ahead. 

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Surveys 

Political Split in Ability to Discern Fake News

Is the news real or fake? Can you tell the difference? Only 50 percent of Americans think they can, according to a Gallup survey, down from 66 percent who thought they could in 1984. Gallup asked the public which of these two statements comes closest to how they feel...

• "Although there is some bias in the news media, there are enough sources of news to be able to sort out the facts." 
• or, "There is so much bias in the news media that it's often difficult to sort out the facts."

While only half of Americans believe they can sort out the facts, there are big differences by political identification. Most Democrats believe there can determine the facts. Most Republicans say it's difficult.

Percent who say there are enough news sources to sort out facts
Democrats: 72%
Independents: 46%
Republicans: 31%

Percent who say there's so much bias it's difficult to sort out facts
Democrats: 26%
Independents: 51%
Republicans: 67%

Source: Gallup, Americans Struggle to Navigate the Modern Media Landscape

Medicaid Expansion Makes a Difference

Medicaid expansion has greatly increased health care access among low-income Americans. For proof, look no further than a series of tables recently released by the National Center for Health Statistics. The tables compare health care access in 2016 for two groups of low-income adults aged 19 to 64: those who live in Medicaid expansion states, and those who don't...

• No usual place of health care: 32 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states do not have a usual place of health care versus a smaller 18 percent of those in expansion states.
• Did not get needed medical care due to cost: 20 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states did not get needed medical care due to cost in the past 12 months. For those in expansion states, the figure was only 9 percent.
• Delayed medical care due to cost: 21 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states delayed medical care due to cost in the past 12 months. In nonexpansion states, just 11 percent were forced to delay care.
• Did not get needed prescription medicine due to cost: 18 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states needed but could not afford prescription medicine in the past 12 months. The figure was just 10 percent in expansion states. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Access and Utilization by Medicaid expansion status for low-income adults aged 19 to 64: Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, United States 2016

One in Five Americans Has Past-Due Medical Bills

Medical debt looms over millions. Fully 21 percent of Americans aged 18 or older had unpaid, past-due medical bills in 2016, according to a FINRA Investor Education Foundation survey.

Women are more likely than men to have unpaid, past-due medical bills—23 percent of women versus 18 percent of men. Younger adults are more likely to have past-due medical bills than older Americans. Among adults under age 55, nearly one in four (24 percent) had unpaid, past-due medical bills. Among those aged 55 or older, the figure was 14 percent.

Source: FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Financial Capability in the United States 2016