Have Middle-Income Parents Improved Their Economic Status?

Reviewing data specific to the middle class, this Urban Institute brief provides trends on middle-income married parents' net worth as compared to unmarried parents. The net worth among middle-income unmarried parents was more unstable and 15 percent lower in 2004 than 1989. The wealth gap between unmarried and married parents continued to grow: middle-income married parents held 81 percent of the income and unmarried held the remaining 19 percent.