Ready-made assignment · Personal finance
Personal finance chart assignment
Six charts from the Federal Reserve, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the College Scorecard and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on saving, rent, student loans, prices and credit reports.
- What is the median household net worth by age?
- How much of their income do renters spend on rent in each state?
- How big is student debt compared with pay, by major?
- How fast is car insurance getting more expensive?
- Which everyday prices rose the most over the past year?
- What do people complain to the CFPB about most?
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Post this link in Google Classroom, Canvas or Moodle. Students see every chart below with its questions, source and date; they don't need an account.
Chart 1 of 6 · Wealth
What is the median household net worth by age?
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In the Federal Reserve's 2025 survey, the typical (median) household headed by someone under 35 had a net worth of $32,820, and one headed by someone 35 to 44 had $156,000. The median was $254,670 for ages 45 to 54, $411,340 for 55 to 64, $431,900 for 65 to 74 and $504,600 for 75 and over, about 15 times the under-35s'. The median is the household in the middle: half have more and half less. Averages are much higher, because a few households are very rich. Net worth is what a household owns (homes, retirement accounts, stocks, businesses, cars, bank accounts) minus what it owes (mortgages, student and car loans, credit cards). The survey is taken every three years, and figures are in dollars of the survey year. People of different ages also lived through different times, so this compares age groups, not one household's path through life.
How to read this chart
Each bar is the median net worth of households, grouped by the age of the person who heads them. Net worth is what a household owns, such as a home, savings and retirement accounts, minus what it owes, such as a mortgage or student loans. The median is the household in the middle: half have more and half have less.
Questions to discuss
- What is the typical net worth for households under 35, and for households 55 to 64?
- Net worth is what you own minus what you owe. Which loans could make a young household's net worth small or even below zero?
- What habits in your twenties could help you build net worth faster than the typical household?
Source: Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances (Public domain (Federal Reserve Board; cite the Board as the source)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersChart 2 of 6 · Housing
How much of their income do renters spend on rent in each state?
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In the Census Bureau's five-year survey ending in 2024, the typical renter household in Florida spent 35.2% of its income on rent and utilities, the most of any state, followed by Hawaii (33.2%) and Nevada (33.1%). North Dakota was lowest at 25.0%. The U.S. figure was 30.6%; 30% is the share often used to mark renters as cost-burdened.
Questions to discuss
- In which state does the typical renter spend the biggest share of income on rent, and in which the smallest?
- Renters who spend more than 30% of income on rent are called cost-burdened. Is the U.S. figure above or below that line?
- If you earned $3,000 a month, how much rent could you pay and stay at 30%?
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Public domain (U.S. government work). This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024
Open the chart and its numbersChart 3 of 6 · College
How big is student debt compared with pay, by major?
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Graduates in the 20 most common bachelor's majors borrow similar amounts in federal student loans at the typical college, but their pay differs widely. For teacher education graduates, that debt equaled 51% of a year's earnings four years after graduating; for computer science graduates, 21%. Debt is the median of colleges' median federal loan debt for graduates who borrowed (private and parent loans not counted). Earnings cover only graduates who received federal aid and were working.
Questions to discuss
- For which major is student debt the biggest share of a year's pay, and for which the smallest?
- Why might two graduates who borrowed the same amount find their loans very different to pay back?
- What would you want to know about a major's pay before deciding how much to borrow for it?
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2023
Open the chart and its numbersChart 4 of 6 · Inflation
How fast is car insurance getting more expensive?
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Car insurance prices changed by -5% in the 12 months to September 2026 (a minus sign means they fell). Their fastest rise since 1976 came in April 2024, when prices were 22.6% higher than in April 2023. Each point compares a month with the same month a year earlier. BLS priced car insurance only every few months before 1970, so the chart starts in 1971. BLS collected no prices in October 2025 and published none for car insurance in November 2025, so those months and the same months of 2026 are missing.
Questions to discuss
- How much did car insurance prices change over the newest 12 months on the chart?
- When did car insurance prices rise fastest? How could that change a family's budget?
- What could a driver do to keep their own insurance bill down when prices rise?
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (motor vehicle insurance) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026
Open the chart and its numbersChart 5 of 6 · Inflation
Which everyday prices rose the most over the past year?
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In the 12 months to September 2026, the biggest price changes were for gasoline (34.2%) and airline fares (22.4%), while overall inflation was 3.7%. At the other end were eggs (-20.6%) and car insurance (-5%). Each bar compares the Consumer Price Index for the item in one month with the same month a year earlier.
Questions to discuss
- Which everyday prices rose the most over the past year, and did any fall?
- Compare each item with overall inflation. Which ones grew faster than prices in general?
- If the item that rose most is something you buy often, how could you change your spending in response?
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026
Open the chart and its numbersChart 6 of 6 · Consumer complaints
What do people complain to the CFPB about most?
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“Incorrect information on your report” was the most common issue in 2025, named in 2.83 million complaints. Next came “Improper use of your report” (1.1 million) and “Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem” (867,390). Issues are the CFPB's categories, picked by the person complaining, and complaints aren't verified.
Questions to discuss
- What is the most common problem people report to the CFPB?
- Most of the top complaints are about credit reports. Why does a mistake on your credit report matter when you apply for a loan or an apartment?
- Complaints aren't verified. How would you check your own credit report, and what would you do if you found a mistake?
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database (Public domain (U.S. government work; the CFPB publishes the database under CC0)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
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