ST. LOUIS–Valentine’s Day may be a long way off, but credit unions may want to reach out to their single members and perhaps offer some financial love—or at least help and counseling.
New data show that while financially it’s always been better to be married than single, the money gap between young married couples and singles has widened, thanks to inflation and rising home prices.
According to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the median net worth of married couples 25 to 34 years old was nearly nine times as much as the median net worth of single households in 2019. In 2010, married households’ median net worth was four times as much, according to the Fed bank.
“This 25-to-34-year-old age is a time of transition, it’s a time of household formation, and I think it matters whether or not you can pool your financial resources with someone else,” said Lowell Ricketts, a data scientist for the Institute for Economic Equity at the St. Louis Fed.
The St. Louis Fed further noted that married people are being tested by inflation, too, “it’s just that they have a larger, shared cushion, often with two incomes and pooled assets. They hold a greater concentration of wealth and considerably less debt, according to research from the St. Louis Fed.
One Other Advantage
The Fed bank noted that having combined assets was particularly helpful over the past decade as many households’ wealth was compounded by rising housing prices and a strong stock market. This has given married couples another advantage when it comes to getting a mortgage.
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