# Average American owns $182,000 worth of possessions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937 "2005-05-08T18:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/1 "2005-05-08T18:27:01Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6124166&postcount=30](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6124166&postcount=30) I saw this post in the Great Debate “How is any luxury spending ethical?” and someone has somehow calculated that the average American owns $182,000 worth of possessions. No cite of course. Is this for real? How is this number calculated? Is depreciation taken into account? Because here I sit, looking over some of the stuff in my apartment and I question whether I own even a quarter of that. I understand that this number must be inflated by home owners versus renters so naturally it would seem very high, but it still doesn’t look right. So basically after all that, anybody got a cite? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/2 "2005-05-08T19:00:12Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I understand that this number must be inflated by home owners versus renters so naturally it would seem very high, but it still doesn’t look right. No cite, but I think that’s it. The most common home value around densely covered regions is about $80,000 - $140,000. Factor that in with 1 car, maybe 2. A boat, motorcycle, etc… and it adds up pretty quickly. I would think a lot of the value you see in that $182,000 figure is owned to banks due to loans. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/3 "2005-05-08T19:12:18Z")
Question: do you actually mean average American, or what the median American possesses? If average, the super rich will skew the value way up. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/4 "2005-05-08T19:35:42Z")
I’m not surprised by that number. I’m a poor college student, and I had to put a value on all my posessions last year for renters insurance. I think I was up to 15 or 20K. It adds up quick. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/5 "2005-05-08T19:42:11Z")
That number seems too high. [Here](http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p70-88.pdf) is a link to an Adobe Acrobat-format (i.e., PDF) report from the US Census Bureau discussing the changes in net worth from 1998 to 2000. Here is a relevant sentence: > [@U.S. Census Bureau](#): > > The median household net worth in 2000 was $55,000, higher than in 1998, when it was $49,932. And of course that’s for a whole household, not just an individual. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/6 "2005-05-08T20:29:31Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > That number seems too high. [Here](http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p70-88.pdf) is a link to an Adobe Acrobat-format (i.e., PDF) report from the US Census Bureau discussing the changes in net worth from 1998 to 2000. Here is a relevant sentence: > > And of course that’s for a whole household, not just an individual. I don’t this net worth number necessarily contradicts the previous total “possessions” number. The total possessions number does not appear to account for liabilities. If you own a house, that can be at least $100K right there, but if you account for the mortgage, your equity (which is part of one’s net worth) can drop to $10K. So you have to distinguish between net worth and possessions. Keep in mind that we are a nation of debtors. But I have no idea if the $182K that’s been mentioned is right or not. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/7 "2005-05-08T21:28:36Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > No cite, but I think that’s it. The most common home value around densely covered regions is about $80,000 - $140,000. Factor that in with 1 car, maybe 2. A boat, motorcycle, etc… and it adds up pretty quickly. I would think a lot of the value you see in that $182,000 figure is owned to banks due to loans. You’re right that makes a lot of sense, but now you’re dealing with two people or $364,000 worth of possessions. Now your house, two cars and a boat looks paltry compared to the “average” and a house, two cars and a boat is decidely above average. > [@CynicalGabe](#): > > I’m not surprised by that number. I’m a poor college student, and I had to put a value on all my posessions last year for renters insurance. I think I was up to 15 or 20K. It adds up quick. But again, that goes back to my OP. Is that 15K in retail value? Then is it retail value today or retail value when you bought it? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/8 "2005-05-08T21:43:25Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But again, that goes back to my OP. Is that 15K in retail value? Then is it retail value today or retail value when you bought it? Absolutely. Take a large-ish collection of music - perhaps 1000 CDs. Total cost of replacement is five figures, in any respectable currency 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/9 "2005-05-09T04:43:54Z")
I don’t know how accurate this particular site is, but it says that the average house in the United States in the year 2000 cost $205,700. [Cite](http://www.freep.com/realestate/renews/jrose19_20020719.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/10 "2005-05-09T06:46:37Z")
I was the one who posted that figure. [Here](http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/gnp.html) is the site where I found it. Obviously, the math is not too rigorous but I figured it was good enough for rhetorical purposes. You’ll also note I cited the figure incorrectly - $182,000 is the figure for the average American household not individual. Ironically, it would have supported my argument better if I had quoted it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/11 "2005-05-09T14:31:37Z")
Your link said “average USA household net worth is $182,381 as per the census,” but the one I found on the U.S. Census Bureau website was only $55,000. They can’t both be correct. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/12 "2005-05-09T14:36:31Z")
Are we talking about the ‘average American’ or the ‘American average’? When you calculate the mean for any group, you have to take into account the obscenely rich as well as the destitute. $182,000 barely covers the rolling stock for many wealthy people. When one considers art collections, million-dollar+ houses, etc., the figure of $182,000 doesn’t seem at all surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/13 "2005-05-09T15:03:08Z")
Sorry. The link I quoted referred to the _median_ net worth of $55,000, while **Little Nemo** ’s cite said the _average_ net worth was $182,000. So both numbers could be correct. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/average-american-owns-182-000-worth-of-possessions/302937/14 "2005-05-09T17:11:16Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Your link said “average USA household net worth is $182,381 as per the census,” but the one I found on the U.S. Census Bureau website was only $55,000. They can’t both be correct. Yes they can be, because you cannot know both the value of a man’s posessions, and the location of the man simultaneously. 😉