Last week, the Fed releases its triennial report on consumer finances.
The headline was “Family net worth drops 40% to $77,000”
My first reaction: is the median net worth of American families that high? I would have expected the median to have been way, way lower.
Reading through the FRB report I stumbled on an interesting factoid:
The median net worth of college graduates is just short of $200,000.
The median net worth of non-college graduates with HS diplomas is about $60,000.
If you attribute the difference — $140,000 — to earning a college degree …. then, it looks like college at least pays for itself over time … and arguably, provides a positive return.
Hmmm.

