Are You Normal?

Have you ever wondered if you were normal? What actually IS normal today? If normal is being average or even in the majority, the following statistics can help you determine if you are indeed “normal”.

Net Worth

Your net worth is the value of your assets minus your debts. Since we tend to build worth as we age, on average, the “normal” person increases their net worth as they age. For example, the average net worth of an American under 35 is about $76,000. That increases to about $435,000 for those 35-44 and is over $800,000 by 45-54. Most “normal” Americans have an average net worth of over $1 million by age 55 but the “median” net worth is just over $210,000 at that time. That means about half the people 55 or older have a net worth of over $210,000 and half have a net worth under $210,000.

Education

About 90% of Americans have a high school education or have earned a GED. About 35% have earned a Bachelor’s Degree. Only about 13% have a Master’s Degree.

Debt

Are you above or below average when it comes to personal, consumer debt? If you added up all your debts (credit cards, car loans, mortgage etc.) how much do you owe? Statistics indicate the average American has about $93,000 in debts. It would then seem if you have less than that, you would be considered above average. Like golf, this is one case where the lower score wins.

Credit Score

One area where a higher score is above average is in your credit score. The average credit rating for Americans is 711, which is considered “good”. By raising that score to 740, you would have a “very good” credit rating. Hit 800 or above, and you have “excellent” credit. Even credit scores ranging from 580 to 669 are considered “fair”.

Prescription Drugs

Americans take an estimated 3 billion prescriptions per year. Estimates say that about 70% of us are on at least one prescription drug at any given time and 20% of us take five or more prescription drugs. It is a bit hard to define what is normal about those figures.

Sometimes what is “normal” can make us feel better about ourselves, and in some cases worse. Perhaps the real question is how “normal” do you really want to be?