<story><title>Net worth of Americans aged 18 to 35 has dropped 34 percent since 1996: study</title><url>https://thehill.com/policy/finance/446372-net-worth-of-americans-aged-18-to-35-has-dropped-34-percent-since-1996-study</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>lettergram</author><text>I suspect that a large part of that has to do with student loans, which have grown by a huge multiple since 1996. With compounding interest it takes longer to recover from school.&lt;p&gt;I know I graduated with $75k loans at 8% interest. Even with say, a $100k salary, just the interest eats ~7% of the income. With the total payments being somewhere around 12% of your income. Combine that with increased taxes over the same time and a 34% reduction in worth seems about right (if we account for the loss in compounding interest from buying a home, 401k investments, etc)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>bsanr2</author><text>This is certainly a factor, but I think HN&amp;#x27;s main demographic tends to overestimate the effect of college-related issues on the fortunes of the general population, where college graduates are still a minority. I imagine that the most important factor is the lowered rate of home-ownership.</text></comment>
<story><title>Net worth of Americans aged 18 to 35 has dropped 34 percent since 1996: study</title><url>https://thehill.com/policy/finance/446372-net-worth-of-americans-aged-18-to-35-has-dropped-34-percent-since-1996-study</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>lettergram</author><text>I suspect that a large part of that has to do with student loans, which have grown by a huge multiple since 1996. With compounding interest it takes longer to recover from school.&lt;p&gt;I know I graduated with $75k loans at 8% interest. Even with say, a $100k salary, just the interest eats ~7% of the income. With the total payments being somewhere around 12% of your income. Combine that with increased taxes over the same time and a 34% reduction in worth seems about right (if we account for the loss in compounding interest from buying a home, 401k investments, etc)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>philwelch</author><text>Especially if your measurement is net worth. A new college graduate today isn&amp;#x27;t just broke, she&amp;#x27;s personally insolvent and will be for the next few years.</text></comment>