One quarter of U.S. adults (25% or 59 million) are considered affluent (defined as having annual household incomes of $100,000 or more), and a fifth of U.S. households (20% or 24.5 million) are affluent, according to an Ipsos MediaCT analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
Affluents’ median income in 2012 was $141,800, up only 0.4% from 2011, according to Ipsos MediaCT. This group holds 70% of Americans’ total net worth and earns 60% of all income in the U.S.
Demographics And Education
A third of affluent Americans live in the South (33%), 25% in the West, 22% in the Northeast, and 20% in the Midwest. Almost seven in 10 (69%) are married, 20% are single, 5% are partnered, and 4% are divorced. Six in 10 (60%) have college degrees or more education, and 56% work full-time. More than six in 10 (62%) work in professional or managerial jobs, while 17% own businesses, and 13% are C-level executives.
Nearly a fifth (17%) speak a language other than English at home, and 11% were born outside the U.S. Some 3% are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).
Affluent adults are much more likely than members of the general population to be White non-Hispanic (85% of affluents vs. 64% of total population [single-race], according to the 2010 U.S. Census).
Media Use
More than eight in 10 affluents (82%) read at least one of the 143 magazines and seven national newspapers included in the survey. Women and “ultra-affluents” (household incomes of $250,000 or more) are the heaviest readers of magazines and newspapers. On average, affluents read 7.8 of the magazine or newspaper titles included in the study regularly.
Mobile media use is growing rapidly among affluent Americans. Ownership of tablets tripled between 2011 and 2012. Almost half of affluent households (47%) and 26% of affluent individuals own tablets in 2012, up from 14% and 9%, respectively, in 2011.
Nearly three quarters of affluent households (73%) and 55% of affluent individuals own smartphones, up from 61% and 45%, respectively, in 2011.
Nine in 10 smartphone or tablet owners and 69% of affluents overall have downloaded apps.
TV Time
More than 99% of affluent Americans own televisions, with an average of 3.4 working sets per household.
They’re watching fewer hours per week, compared to last year: 16.9 hours, vs. 17.6 hours in 2011. More than half of affluents (58%) listen to the radio in a given week, down from 61% in 2011. Among radio listeners, affluents listen to an average of 10.6 hours per week, up from 10.2 hours in 2011.
Nearly all affluents (99%) use the Internet, and their online time has increased 14% since 2011, to an average of 37.4 hours per week. Increased use of social media, online and mobile shopping, apps, and entertainment are driving growth in total online time.
Staying Connected
Affluent Americans interact with an average of 147 people regularly, including personal and professional contacts. They spend the largest amount of time conversing in person — an average of 13.6 hours in a given week. Time spent using email (6.3 hours per week) and social media such as Facebook (4.7 hours per week) and Twitter (6.8 hours per week) rival time spent talking on the phone (5.4 hours per week).
Affluent Millennials are significantly more likely than affluents overall to use Facebook in a given week (88% of Millennials vs. 63% of all affluents). They’re also more likely to use Twitter; 31% use it and 25% post tweets, compared to 12% of all affluents who use Twitter and 9% who post tweets.
Spending Habits
More than two thirds of affluents’ spending (68%) is concentrated in six categories: auto purchase and maintenance (17%), personal insurance (12%), education (10%), groceries (10%), home/garden (10%), and travel (9%).
Personal Priorities
More than eight in 10 affluent adults (83%) cite their families as their top priorities in life, while at the same time 18% of affluents concede that they rarely have enough time for their families.
More than seven in 10 (71%) say they’re almost constantly trying to do more than one thing at a time, and many are not content with this level of multitasking: 55% say they’re trying very hard to simplify their lives. Although 59% are very worried about the economy, 75% describe themselves as very happy in general and 73% as optimistic.
Source: “The Mendelsohn Affluent Survey 2012: The State of the Affluent Consumer,” Ipsos Media CT, Stephen Kraus, SVP, Chief Insights Officer, Audience Measurement Group, 49 Stevenson St., 15th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94105; 415-293-9711; steve.kraus@ipsos.com; www.ipsos-na.com. Price: Contact for information.
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