The average family wealth in the U.S. dropped 38 percent from 2007 to 2010 due to a decline in housing prices, according to a new Federal Reserve report.
The drop was $77,300 as the median wages dropped 7.7 percent during the same period, the report showed.
Middle-income families, the drop in earning power varies even more widely from 7.7 percent all the way up to 13.6 percent.
The survey showed that fewer families are carrying credit card balances, and those who do have less debt. The median balance dropped 16 percent, from $3,100 in 2007 to $2,600 in 2010. The Fed also found that the percentage of Americans who have no debt rose to a quarter of families.
But that progress was undermined by other factors, leaving the median level of family debt unchanged. The report said more families reported taking out education loans. Nearly 11 percent said they were at least 60 days late paying a bill, up from 7 percent in 2007. And the percentage of families saddled with debts greater than 40 percent of their income stayed the same.
The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. Home Price Index fell 23 percent in the three years through December 2010. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) lost 14 percent in the same period.
The proportion of families with retirement accounts decreased 2.6 points to 50.4 percent during the period, wiping out much of the 3.1 percentage-point increase over the prior three years, the report said.