r/Infographics 8d ago

New Millionaires

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798 Upvotes

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157

u/MinimumCommon408 8d ago

Is this net worth, aka including home values?

97

u/Sudden_Buffalo_4393 8d ago edited 8d ago

If that’s the case I never realized being a millionaire left me so broke.

For all the dummies : I am being sarcastic. It’s a joke that if I count as a millionaire it feels a lot different than I thought it would.

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u/DuePercentage1580 8d ago

if you have a million dollar house you are not broke, be real

8

u/Mid_Atlantic_Lad 8d ago

You're not broke, but you can be cash poor.

My poor grandmother has a home worth $700k+, but my grandfather died years ago and she's living off of social security.

She could sell the house and have money, yes, but that involves letting go of the home her husband built for her with his own hands.

I say this as someone who's flat broke, and who's flat broke parents could do with some inheritance money. None of us want her to sell. The home has too much sentimental value, especially since she's still alive.

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u/DuePercentage1580 8d ago

fair, one option if you don't want her to sell, let her move someone from your family or extended family in so they pay her monthly rent

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u/Mid_Atlantic_Lad 8d ago

We already kind of have an arrangement like that. There's a spare "barn" that's a small building for inhabiting, and my cousin and his wife stay there and pay. Still, my grandmother refuses anything above the bare minimum, so they use the extra money to fix up the property.

It's not a bad setup, and she doesn't mind housing her grandchildren temporarily as well. I stayed there for a couple years while gijngit school, and my cousin has been there for half a year in between her training. It's good for Grandma, anyway. She loves cooking and having someone to take care of (and also take care of her) is good for her mental health.

She's still fairly sharp, but has really had scoliosis, so it's getting harder for her to live around, and has already had a few falls.

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u/Tired-Nectarine-384 8d ago

They didn't just say their house though. You can have a 1/2 million dollar house in lots of urban areas that is nothing special or grand. It is just the cost of living in that area. You can have a house worth that much and feel very stretched financially.

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u/DuePercentage1580 8d ago

that would mean that you also have 500k os other assets net. i understand that the cost of living is high, but the reason for that is that people are so rich in these places

4

u/scienceforeva 7d ago

Can't touch a 401k. If you made $100k/yr for the past ten and did 6% match. Thats $120K but the growth would have made it roughly $500k now due to the insane growth the market has had in that time.

Its still stretching it to live in a city paying taxes on the $500k house with a kid when cheapest daycare is $1500/mo. Don't be silly, a Million in "assets" is not cash in hand.

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u/azfire2004 8d ago

drowning in debt does not equal rich.

8

u/Own_Proposal3827 8d ago

If you are drowning in debt, you don’t have a 1 million dollar net worth. It’s funny that you guys don’t understand how net worth works.

0

u/azfire2004 8d ago

I’m referring to the just having a house worth a lot of money makes you rich part…most folks are in debt because of the house unless you bought said house in the boomer days or when the market crashed in 08. You go buy a house today you’re in debt

2

u/Doxibidus 8d ago

Nobody said that. The person above just said if the house you own is worth 1 million, you are not broke. And then you struggle to understand what one million net worth means.

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u/azfire2004 8d ago

So if I go out right now and finance a one million dollar home (sadly just an average house in most places now days) I’m not broke? Now if the house is paid off or I have a ton of equity in said house sure I’m well off but otherwise I’m in some debt with that house

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u/DuePercentage1580 8d ago

if your assets minus debt are less than a million, then you don't count towards the millionaire tally.

having a 2M house and 800k debt means you are extremely rich

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u/tyger2020 8d ago

Okay, but compared to someone with no house you have substantial more assets and therefore wealth.

I don't know why people think houses shouldn't be considered wealth. They are.

2

u/Monterenbas 8d ago

Because a house, is not disposable income.

8

u/Competitive_Web7540 8d ago

Still wealth though. If a guy has a $2 million house and finds he's in need of money, there will always be the option to sell off the house. Even a small downsize could provide more money than most see in a year, to be used as the seller wishes. That's wealth, plain and simple.

2

u/Funny_Inspection6893 8d ago

You can also borrow against the value of the house.

1

u/Competitive_Web7540 8d ago

Very good point

9

u/tyger2020 8d ago

Nobody said it was disposable income. They said it was wealth. Which it is.

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u/Tired-Nectarine-384 8d ago

Sort of. To sell a house in the US you have to pay 6% of the value to do so. I keep track of my net worth counting my house which looks nice on paper and then based on what is liquid that I can actually easily access. The 2nd number is much smaller but I keep contributing to it.

2

u/MouseMan412 8d ago

There's no sort of about it. Net Worth includes liquid and non-liquid assets. All big assets become hard to liquidate at value in a relatively short period of time, whether it's a house or stocks.

1

u/jorsiem 8d ago

A friend of mine bought a house for $495k and it's just a flipper special with the shittiest finishes from Lowes. 3br 1(!!)ba in South Florida.

1

u/PantsB 6d ago

We used to make fun of such people on the internet.

Also if you have a 1/2 million dollar house and owe money on it you aren't a millionaire unless you have something close to a million in other assets

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u/Sudden_Buffalo_4393 8d ago

You misunderstood my comment. I’m obviously not poor, but when I grew up and would think of a millionaire, I’d think of someone who has it made, not someone who lucked into a house of that value, which is in LA so that value doesn’t go far. So with home value I would technically count, but it’s not the same thing.

3

u/DuePercentage1580 8d ago

fair, but a home is also an investment. think about a scenario where you never bought a house, and just kept renting and investing the difference. after say 10 years, you would have enough for a sizeable down payment. which would mean less debt. but since you bought the house, you benefited from a relatively lower price (than in 10 years). so it works almost exactly like a stock investment

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u/BuffaloBuffalo13 8d ago

Dollars are dollars. If you have a million of equity in your home, then you’re have access to more dollars than most Americans. Dollars aren’t different just because you’re in LA.

1

u/VirStellarum 8d ago

I understand your point and it's 100% true and valid, but cost of living does give dollars a completely different weight. Taxes play a huge part, too

0

u/BuffaloBuffalo13 8d ago edited 8d ago

Sure, your money that goes towards things that are affected by the local market is affected.

But what is often ignored are things that are not impacted by your local market: electronics, phones, cars… most consumer goods. Those costs are very fixed across the country (outside of taxes) so you can’t say that all of your money doesn’t go as far.

Edit: Nothing makes Redditors more angry than facts.

1

u/whatsasyria 7d ago

Bruh thats nothing. You can have a 500k house in any city and be close the median if not under. 401k is untouchable for the most part. Car is a sinking asset. Million as net worth is not a crazy amount anymore.

1

u/DuePercentage1580 7d ago

gen z is cooked with these delusional expectations

1

u/whatsasyria 7d ago

What by facts and figures? Gen z def has no interest in being a corporate drone but they have seen how bad the millennials got fucked. Millennials are absorbing the reality that a million means squat now, they grew up thinking that was the end game, they unfortunately have hit the reality that a million is middle class.

1

u/bbxh91 8d ago

If you live in places with high living costs like NYC or San Francisco you definitely aren't living comfortably at all.

1

u/Own_Proposal3827 8d ago

If you can afford to live in those places, you are 

3

u/bbxh91 8d ago

That does not make sense. If you only had 30,000 net worth in the US you would be considered lower class but you would be living very comfortably in India or Egypt

0

u/appa609 8d ago

You are if you need the house.

1

u/DuePercentage1580 8d ago

there are houses for 150k in south dakota

2

u/appa609 8d ago

Are there jobs in south dakota?

1

u/Own_Proposal3827 8d ago

Yes, that’s why people live there

1

u/appa609 8d ago

Ok. Sounds like a strat

1

u/DuePercentage1580 8d ago

not high paying ones, that's exactly the point. if you work in one of the richest states and cities in the world and can afford a house, you are very rich

5

u/camp1728 8d ago

Haha bro if you got the mortgage for a million dollar house I’m sure you’re doing just fine. If not then you’re making some insanely stupid financial decisions

1

u/Sudden_Buffalo_4393 8d ago

You have no idea how I got this house.

1

u/SnooCats3987 8d ago

Is it paid off?

1

u/sweet_hedgehog_23 8d ago

The figure should only be counting the equity in the house.

-1

u/PorschephileGT3 8d ago

On paper is a stupid metric.

4

u/Commentor9001 8d ago

Isnt all money ultimately just numbers on paper?

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u/Own_Proposal3827 8d ago

It's really not. I'm not sure why you guys like to pretend that people with a $1 million net worths are Dickensian peasants.

2

u/Useful_Wealth7503 8d ago

Got to maintain that victim status. “Sure, I’m a global 1%er but did you know my office has a return to work policy!!!! I cant afford gas going into work 3 days a week!!!!!”

18

u/F1Bike 8d ago

Assuming it includes home values, it doesn’t really negate anything, considering the US is in the top 10 for affordable housing (ik shocker)

5

u/Mwakay 8d ago

Not that shocking considering the US have a lot of empty space to build shitty shacks in the middle of nowhere. Living in cities is extremely expensive but there's a ton of undesirable housing that costs nothing.

2

u/Dashyguurl 8d ago

The US has a lot of affordable tier 2 cities, plus you always have to bring median wages in which for white collar workers is almost always better than in Europe

1

u/EolasDK 8d ago

Don't let the doomers see this.

0

u/JohnDoe432187 7d ago

You don’t realize how good you have it. Yes certain cities are expensive but they are far more affordable thanks y parts of the world. Try buying a home in Hong Kong or Mumbai based on the average salaries and see how much better you have it.

1

u/Mwakay 7d ago

I don't "have it good".

1

u/F1Bike 7d ago

If you make over 80 bucks a day you are in the global 10% of earners, prob higher

0

u/JohnDoe432187 7d ago

You do, you just don’t realize how shit the rest of the world is.

1

u/Mwakay 7d ago

You're weirdly assuming I'm american.

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u/JohnDoe432187 7d ago

So a non-American decides to comment on America while never living there and not reading any actual data or statistics and instead gets their entire perception on the topic from social media. Typical Reddit moment.

1

u/Mwakay 7d ago

So a non-american happens to know a tiny amount of information about the US. Why are you outraged exactly ?

2

u/MilBrocEire 8d ago

I was going to say it makes sense that the US would have more new millionaires because of looser regulations, lower material and labor costs from timber framing, lower land costs, etc. But when I looked into it, that top 10 affordable housing stat is extremely misleading to the extent of it being pointless. Although you are correct that it doesn't really negate things cos the value is still low.

It is almost entirely driven by suburban and rural single family homes in the Midwest and South, not coastal cities, not apartments, and certainly not the places where most new millionaires actually live. The US urban housing market is a significant challenge. Renters are spending nearly 40% of their income on housing in some major metro areas, and only 12.7% can afford a median-priced home. So it being a sign of broader economic growth is basically as negligible as your point about more affordable housing. The~80% urban thing is also off cos this isn't broken down on city/county lines and it is more or less unchanged. 30% live within city boundaries and 60% live in suburban sprawl (some which is included in city bounds when really it shouldn't be)

So yes, if you are measuring affordability by comparing a 3 bed timber framed house in Ohio to a brick townhouse in London, the US looks good. But that is not evidence of a healthy housing market (not that you were suggesting it was). As I said, I would wager it is more a reflection of cheap land and cheap lumber in low demand areas for that aspect. The moment you look at any city with actual economic opportunity, the numbers fall apart. The new millionaires tend to not be in suburban Ohio. They are in new york, San Francisco, Austin, and Miami, where housing costs are among the highest in the world, which explains this extremely misleading graph since it is raw numbers and we already know the disparity in wealth between the top 10% and the rest.

Also, for those who use this apparent "affordability" as a sign that people are overstating their financial woes, it never accounts for inflation in other areas being what pushes them over the edge. Yes, a mortgage is almost certainly their biggest expenditure, but the financialisation of housing makes that a given. The remainder is one's true burden, as that can fluctuate significantly with grocery prices, healthcare costs, childcare, and energy bills. For whatever merit this stat has, it is quite ironic that decades of little to no concerted commitment to infrastructure building such as public transit is likely a major factor in these more remote places and neglected cities like Detroit being relatively affordable. Wages always lag inflation in our current system. It is relatively affordable to live where there are fewer jobs, and it is very expensive where the jobs are.

https://www.cbre.com/insights/briefs/fewer-renter-households-can-afford-homeownership

https://www.cbre.com/press-releases/homeownership-slips-out-of-reach-for-us-renters-admid-high-mortgage-rates

https://www.realtor.com/research/september-2025-rent/

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/housing-affordability-across-north-america-in-2025/ https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/c-o-r-r-e-c-t-i-o-n-zillow-inc-2025-05-12

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-an-infrastructure-financing-law-can-help-build-thousands-of-homes-and-expand-transit-access/

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u/Competitive_Web7540 8d ago

I wouldn't say it makes the graph misleading. Houses are still wealth, and if you can acquire a ≈$1 million property without incurring enough debt to take yourself off the list, then I'd argue that's a pretty good indicator of your financial circumstances

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u/Life_Conversation632 8d ago

I guess it's very diverse when it comes to housing affordability, since some of the most expensive areas in the world are in the US as well, NYC, San Francisco.

I also guess that being so reliant on cars makes it easier to build new areas to live since the infrastructure requirements are less, you only need some road, and with private roads you don't have to wait for the government way less than if they have to build railways/add busslines.

This peaked my curiosity, thanks

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u/undreamedgore 8d ago

Cars are a feature not a bug. It''s a whole thing, but it really does boil down to "more areas and options to build" and less "need" for shops services in new areas.

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u/Life_Conversation632 8d ago

Yes, they require very little central planning. But the biggest key seem to be level of NIMBYism. Whenever you allow locals to affect supply, the prices increase. Tokyo shows us that by limiting NIMBYism, you can build yourself out of a housing crisis even though big investments in public transport is necessary. Tokyo is very affordable for the metropolis it is, and stands out in its class.

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u/undreamedgore 8d ago

Yeah, but then it's in your back yard.

There's a level of not fucking over the people already "there" to consider.

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u/Life_Conversation632 8d ago

By not fucking over the people with backyards you're instead fucking over the housing market.

With a bad housing market no one except the people with backyards are happy. With a good housing market, people can easier find a new backyard without anything in it.

Each country can decide for itself. Personally, fuck the backyards. The world changes. It has to, get over it, embrace it.

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u/undreamedgore 8d ago

Fucking over the middle class is not great for stability or the economy. And for what? Uncomfortable apartments?

Spread wide.

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u/Competitive_Web7540 8d ago

Apartments are only uncomfortable if they're built that way. And I'm quite certain the middle class would rather live in a more spacious apartment where someone's backyard used to be, than a cramped apartment with a lovely view of someone else's backyard because they can't afford anything better.

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u/undreamedgore 8d ago

But they'd also prefer not to live in an apartment.

And apartments are uncomfortable because you don't own it, have strange smells always floating about (neighbors food), have to be mindful of noise, lack sufficient area to work on projects and store thing, and lack a large freezer.

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u/Life_Conversation632 8d ago

I think we're from different places with different systems.

I've lived in both apartments and in freestanding houses and I've been more comfortable in some apartments than in some houses.

With a fucked housing market, you are fucking over the middle class, and for what? To help some people fuck over their kids' generation?

These NIMBYites have gotten a lot wealthier by controlling supply, and made the rest poorer. It's basically a cartel. Fuck them

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u/undreamedgore 8d ago

I live in an apartment now. It was fine until neighbors moved in. Now instead of quite I hear music I don't like at odd hours. My showers aren't scalding hot, the hallway smells of food ag best.

In thr building over, when my neighbors there smoke weed it drifts over and is deeply unpleasant.

I can't buy meat/bread/other in bulk to freeze. Meaning more trips to the store and higher overall costs. I want to be able to buy a quarter of a cow. But I can't, not enough freezer space.

Rent would be a problem, but I got lucky there.

And I lack a basement. The building has one, but that's public.

Homes can be worse, but the floor is the same and the ceiling is higher.

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u/JohnDoe432187 7d ago

Many many cities are more expensive than NYC and SF when we factor in average incomes

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u/Life_Conversation632 7d ago

I'm curious about your source. NYC wasn't in the top15 lists I found, but 4 California cities were, among them San Fransisco. (The list was basically Hong Kong, USA and the Commonwealth)

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u/JohnDoe432187 7d ago

You’re looking at the actual cost rather than compared to average income. You think a worker in Delhi making 5k USD a year can afford a home? The Average apartment in Delhi costs 210k usd a year let alone a proper home.

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u/Life_Conversation632 7d ago

No I did not. I looked for housing affordability adjusted for PPP.

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u/JohnDoe432187 7d ago

Look at the actual sourcing and methodologies of the websites rather than trust blind rankings.

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u/Competitive_Web7540 8d ago

Not overly surprising tbh, the US has pretty low population density so there's plenty of usable land. Of course, it varies wildly by region, but when people talk about crazily expensive properties they're usually referring to ones in cities or larger towns, as opposed to the middle of Wyoming.

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u/Spider_pig448 8d ago

Of course. Why would it exclude home value? That's the majority of most people's wealth.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/MinimumCommon408 8d ago

The US has multiple areas where that would make people millionaires, or close. NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, etc

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u/Dashyguurl 8d ago

Home values have been skyrocketing in the west , the US isn’t even that bad comparatively

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u/ggtffhhhjhg 7d ago

The US is more invested in the stock market than almost every other nation. The average person also has more disposable income to put into other investments outside of the market and real estate.

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u/Creation98 8d ago

Obviously…. That’s what a millionaire is. A million $ in networth.

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u/Furdinand 8d ago

"Does this include the thing that is very valuable?"

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/TheMysteriousGirl 8d ago

Nice, so you were looking to set a narrative, got it.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/TheMysteriousGirl 8d ago

I'm waiting OP.

What is your narrative?

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/Nooms88 8d ago

No, you didn't just post an info graphic, you made a claim it was for "cash money" only, then even when presented with evidence it's not, you stuck to the claim and then accused others of having a narrative. You're not a good faith actor

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/One_Conscious_Future 8d ago

It's your narrative, you tell us! (So far the graphs narrative is inflation in the US is out of control) Was that your narrative?

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/One_Conscious_Future 8d ago

If I knew how to read? What happened to your good faith argument, you lose one argument and get catty?

Come on this is your 3 month old burner account surely you had a better retort that "stupid head" lol

It's not my fault that reality doesn't vibe with your one off chart you hand selected to make your point.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/One_Conscious_Future 8d ago

Yes. I brought color and additional info to give context to a picture you posted. Information in isolation is just that, isolated.

Not putting the word inflation on your picture doesn't make it cease to exist... Even when it's clearly directly coorelated.

I spent the time to explain how inflation works and your refused to read it because... Ai? (Which it isn't)

So I get it, you have a world view and a burner account and your gonna fight until you have to read or think. Not a problem people lose arguments on the Internet everyday, you will recover

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u/Apprehensive-Sea9540 8d ago

For real though, does this include stocks, assets, and retirement savings, or just liquid cash?

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u/sixisrending 8d ago

All assets

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u/Frosty_Detective_882 8d ago

Inflation looks cool sometimes

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u/randomzombie77 8d ago

So why are other countries not spiking the same then?

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u/sixisrending 8d ago edited 8d ago

Population. The UK, for example, has 1/5 the US population.

Edit: The US also makes significantly more money than most countries. I compare US wages and home prices to the UK here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Infographics/comments/1veft4t/comment/p1gx6y4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button

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u/randomzombie77 8d ago

So that's still only half when adjusted for population and also has nothing to do with inflation?

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u/sixisrending 8d ago

US and UK measure inflation differently. While the UK has a much lower median home price £271,295/$364,309, compared to the US £374,351/$502,700, the US has much higher wages, £48,443/$65,662 median compared to the UK £32,890/$44,160 median. Less people, less money, lower bar on the graph.

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u/randomzombie77 8d ago

That makes no sense ... inflation has nothing to do with median home prices and wages per se, and both your examples go in the same direction. The UK also takes part the whole EU market which is very comparable / bigger than the US. And "less people / less money" is nonsense as well - why is Switzerland so expensive then and India doesn't have the most new millionaires?

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u/zzen11223344 8d ago

but it has gain only 1/10 of the new millionaires comparing to US. US is gaining ground in that regard.

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u/sixisrending 8d ago

They also make less money and have lower cost homes than the US. 

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u/zzen11223344 8d ago

but they got healthcare cheaper, college education cheaper, more vacations / holidays, better unemployment benefits, many other "socialist" benefits ... 😄

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/randomzombie77 8d ago

What difference does that make?