Between 2010 and 2013, real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.1 percent, the civilian unemployment rate fell from 9.9 percent to 7.5 percent, and the annual rate of change in the consumer price index averaged 2.3 percent. However, the effect on incomes for different types of families was far from uniform. Mean family income rose 4 percent in real terms, but median income fell 5 percent, consistent with increasing income concentration during this period. Families at the bottom of the income distribution saw continued substantial declines in average real incomes between 2010 and 2013, continuing the trend observed between the 2007 and 2010 surveys. Families in the middle to upper-middle parts of the income distribution saw little change in average real incomes between 2010 and 2013 and thus have failed to recover the losses experienced between 2007 and 2010. Only families at the very top of the income distribution saw widespread income gains between 2010 and 2013, although mean and median incomes were still below 2007 levels. The differentials in average income growth between 2010 and 2013 are also observed for other family groupings in which large differences in income levels are observed, notably across education groups, by race and ethnicity, homeownership status, and levels of net worth. The improvements in economic activity along with changes in house and corporate equity prices combined to effectively stabilize average and median family net worth between 2010 and 2013 after both measures fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010. Overall, between 2010 and 2013 there was little movement in median and mean net worth, as the median fell a modest 2 percent and the mean increased slightly. Families at the bottom of the income distribution saw continued substantial declines in real net worth between 2010 and 2013, while those in the top half saw, on average, modest gains. Ownership rates of housing and businesses fell substantially between 2010 and 2013. Retirement plan participation in 2013 continued on the downward trajectory observed between the 2007 and 2010 surveys for families in the bottom half of the income distribution. The value of direct and indirect holdings of corporate equities increased between 2010 and 2013, though the ownership rate fell. The decrease in stock ownership rates was most pronounced for the bottom half of the income distribution. The decrease in ownership rates for housing and corporate equity holdings was concentrated in the bottom and upper-middle parts of the income distribution, though the decrease in business ownership was concentrated among higher-income families. Between 2010 and 2013, interest rates fell on most types of consumer debt: Typical fixed-rate 30-year mortgage interest rates fell from 5.3 percent to 3.5 percent, new vehicle loan interest rates fell from 6.5 percent to 4.7 percent, and credit card interest rates fell from 14.3 percent to 11.9 percent. At the same time, debt holdings of families decreased, and many aspects of families' debt circumstances improved. Overall, debt obligations fell between 2010 and 2013: Median debt declined 20 percent, and mean debt decreased 13 percent for families with debt. For the median family with debt, debt burdens also fell between 2010 and 2013: Leverage ratios, debt-to-income ratios, and payment-to-income ratios all fell. The fraction of families with payment-to-income ratios greater than 40 percent declined below the level seen in 2001. Much of the decline in debt can be explained by a large decline in the fraction of families with home-secured debt, which fell from 47.0 percent to 42.9 percent, a decline that is only partly explained by the much smaller drop in homeownership. Between 2010 and 2013, the fraction of families with credit card debt also decreased.
