Two-Income Households Grow More Affluent – Internet, Radio & Outdoor Top Media Habits.

In the 80+ metropolitan markets surveyed regularly by The Media Audit the number of two-income households has stayed steady since 2000 at approximately 35.5 million but a higher percentage are now affluent.

“Since 2000 the percentage of two-income families with household incomes of $50,000 or more increased from 64.8 to 68.4. Among all households just 44.9 percent have incomes of $50,000 or more,” says Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, Inc., a 34-year-old market research firm that produces The Media Audit. “The media habits of the two-income family continue to evolve”, says Jordan, with “the Internet, radio and outdoor being the only media that indexed more than 100.” An index of 100 is the average of all adults in the markets surveyed.

Levels of Affluence

Two-income families with annual incomes of $75,000 or more increased from 38.6 to 44.1 percent since 2000 while 25.3 percent of all households have annual incomes of $75,000 or more. Two income families with incomes of $100,000 or more increased from 20.7 to 25.4 percent since 2000. Just 13.9 percent of all households have annual incomes of $100,000 or more.

“Two-income households are not one homogenous group,” cautions Jordan, “there are significant – if not dramatic – differences within the group.” Approximately 63 percent of the two-income households have children present. Among all two-income households 84.9 percent of heads of households are between the ages of 25 and 54. In two-income households without children only 69.0 percent of heads of household fall in that same age group. Quite logically, the absence of children is most prevalent in households headed by 18-24 year olds and those households headed by individuals who are age 55 and over.

“The presence or absence of children in the home has a significant impact on how income is spent and what media is accessed,” says Jordan. For instance, 16.4 percent of all two-income families say they ate the evening meal in a sit-down restaurant at least 4 times in the past two weeks. In the two income households without children, 20.9 percent ate the evening meal in a sit-down restaurant at least 4 times during the past two weeks.

Two Incomes Better Educated

The heads of two-income households are considerably better educated than the general adult population. In two-income households, 46.0 have one or more college degrees. Among two-income households without children the percent is even higher, 49.6 percent. These figures compare to 35.3 percent of all adults in the markets surveyed who have one or more college degrees. The two-income households without children are slightly more successful at acquiring liquid assets than are all two-income households. Of the group without children, 26.1 percent have $100,000 or more in liquid assets and 10.8 percent have $250,000 or more. Among all two-income households, 24.9 have $100,000 or more in liquid assets and 9.3 percent have $250,000 or more. Among all adults, 19.4 have $100,000 or more and 7.4 percent have $250,000 or more.

Collectively, in all markets surveyed two-income households make up 27.6 percent of all households.

However, the percentages per market range from more than 35 in Omaha, Minneapolis, Madison and Des Moines to less than 24 in San Francisco, Fort Myers, San Jose, Tampa, Tucson, New Haven, Daytona Beach, West Palm Beach and Ocala (FL).

For more information at http://www.TheMediaAudit.com