Despite the so-called recovery, many families continue to struggle, with income and other living standards slipping below thresholds that typically represent middle-class quality of life.
We've assembled a variety of metrics to help determine whether you're getting ahead, holding steady or slipping further than most.
Income
For the 50% of families in the middle of the scale, household income ranges from $51,000 to $123,000 for a typical two-parent, two-child family. The median is about $81,000. Those numbers, from 2008, have probably fallen by 5% to 7% since then because of the recession.
Median income for a single-parent, two-child family is about $25,000.
Housing costs
For two-parent families, the typical home is worth about $231,000 and accounts for $17,600 in mortgage payments and other costs per year.Housing costs have risen more than twice as fast as income since 1990, a trend that may be reversing as housing prices weaken.
Home size
The housing bubble was one factor that boosted housing costs, but the typical family also now lives in a much bigger home. From 1979 to 2007, the median size of a new single-family home grew by 40%, to about 2,300 square feet.That trend may now also be reversing as families downsize from homes they can't afford.
Medical expenses
As you've probably heard, health care costs are going through the roof. A study by the middle-class task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden says the median two-parent family spends $5,100 per year on health insurance and non-covered expenses -- assuming an employer provides health insurance.Health care costs have risen far more than any other aspect of the family budget since 1990, with no end in sight.
Cars
They provide mobility and represent freedom, one reason the typical family spends about $12,400 per year on two medium-sized sedans or the equivalent, with a total new-car value of $45,000.The recession may have dampened our love of the road, however: Americans are driving less and car sales are off about 40%.
College savings
The typical family puts aside $4,100 for college expenses for two kids, estimated to cover about 75% of expenses at a state university. Financial aid helps with the rest.But parents who want to continue funding their children’s education at these levels should toss more into their college funds. As states face budget crunches, tuition and fees are likely to rise more sharply.
Vacations
One week at the beach or another destination is standard, at a cost of $3,000 or so for a family of four.
More affluent families can afford two weeks, at around twice that cost.
Retirement savings
At the median income, a family that saves 3.2% of its income -- roughly equivalent to the national savings rate -- puts away nearly $2,600 per year for retirement.Of course, many families don't hit even that modest goal, and stock-market losses over the last several years have further shrunk investors’ nest eggs.
Everyday spending
Clothes, food, utilities, entertainment and other living expenses amount to $14,200 a year for a median-income family.
Not surprisingly, these are among the expenses many families are trying to reduce, by buying more discount brands, using less or doing without.
Number of earnings
In 76% of two-parent families, both parents work.The higher the household income, the more likely that both parents are contributing.
Hours worked
Few parents would be surprised to hear that Moms and Dads are working more than they used to. The total number of hours worked in a two-parent family is 3,747 per year, up 5% since 1990.The increased hours add up to more than four 40-hour weeks of additional work per family.
Education
The typical household head has a high school degree plus about two years of college education, up by more than a full year of college since 1990.
That’s a good thing; education is a key factor in lifetime earnings, and high school dropouts face a dimmer future by nearly every measure.
Free time
What's your top priority? In a 2008 poll by the Pew Research Center, it wasn't healthy kids, a strong marriage or a great career; 68% of respondents said it was free time.And just 12% said that being wealthy was the top priority.
Household net worth
The typical household has a net worth of about $84,000, according to the Federal Reserve.That's down 30% since 2007, thanks to losses in stock portfolios and declining home values.
Debt
About 18% of disposable income, on average, goes toward mortgage payments, auto loans, credit cards and other forms of household debt.
That's a bit higher than it was in the '70s and '80s. But since debt payments peaked at the beginning of 2008, at 18.9% of income, they've been steadily falling.
This article was reported by Rick Newman for U.S. News & World Report.
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