{
  "title": "A larger share at the top",
  "alt": "From 1989 Q3 to 2026 Q2, the top 1 percent’s share of U.S. household net worth rose from 22.8 to 32.5 percent. The bottom half’s share fell from 3.5 to 2.3 percent.",
  "story_url": "https://publicrot.com/stories/average-and-median-family-wealth",
  "story_revision": 3,
  "periods_and_units": [
    {
      "series": "Top 1%",
      "period": "1989 Q3",
      "value": 22.8,
      "unit": "percent of household net worth",
      "population": "DFA U.S. households",
      "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
      "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 1989:Q3",
      "calculation": "100 × (TopPt1 + RemainingTop1) / all five groups; rounded from 22.806402752"
    },
    {
      "series": "Top 1%",
      "period": "2026 Q2",
      "value": 32.5,
      "unit": "percent of household net worth",
      "population": "DFA U.S. households",
      "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
      "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 2026:Q2",
      "calculation": "100 × (TopPt1 + RemainingTop1) / all five groups; rounded from 32.487309631"
    },
    {
      "series": "Bottom 50%",
      "period": "1989 Q3",
      "value": 3.5,
      "unit": "percent of household net worth",
      "population": "DFA U.S. households",
      "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
      "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 1989:Q3",
      "calculation": "100 × Bottom50 / all five groups; rounded from 3.511960041"
    },
    {
      "series": "Bottom 50%",
      "period": "2026 Q2",
      "value": 2.3,
      "unit": "percent of household net worth",
      "population": "DFA U.S. households",
      "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
      "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 2026:Q2",
      "calculation": "100 × Bottom50 / all five groups; rounded from 2.304343875"
    }
  ],
  "chart_specification": {
    "id": "wealth-long-run",
    "title": "A larger share at the top",
    "subtitle": "Share of U.S. household net worth • separate Fed quarterly series",
    "type": "grouped_endpoint_bars",
    "axis": {
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100,
      "unit": "percent of total household net worth",
      "scale": "linear"
    },
    "labels": [
      "Top 1%: 22.8% → 32.5%",
      "Bottom 50%: 3.5% → 2.3%",
      "1989 Q3 → 2026 Q2"
    ],
    "footer": "Source: Federal Reserve DFA, September 18, 2026 release; Public Rot calculations.",
    "note": "Show endpoints only. Do not draw an invented intervening trend or mix this population with the adult historical series.",
    "alt": "From 1989 Q3 to 2026 Q2, the top 1 percent’s share of U.S. household net worth rose from 22.8 to 32.5 percent. The bottom half’s share fell from 3.5 to 2.3 percent.",
    "rows": [
      {
        "series": "Top 1%",
        "period": "1989 Q3",
        "value": 22.8,
        "unit": "percent of household net worth",
        "population": "DFA U.S. households",
        "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
        "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 1989:Q3",
        "calculation": "100 × (TopPt1 + RemainingTop1) / all five groups; rounded from 22.806402752"
      },
      {
        "series": "Top 1%",
        "period": "2026 Q2",
        "value": 32.5,
        "unit": "percent of household net worth",
        "population": "DFA U.S. households",
        "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
        "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 2026:Q2",
        "calculation": "100 × (TopPt1 + RemainingTop1) / all five groups; rounded from 32.487309631"
      },
      {
        "series": "Bottom 50%",
        "period": "1989 Q3",
        "value": 3.5,
        "unit": "percent of household net worth",
        "population": "DFA U.S. households",
        "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
        "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 1989:Q3",
        "calculation": "100 × Bottom50 / all five groups; rounded from 3.511960041"
      },
      {
        "series": "Bottom 50%",
        "period": "2026 Q2",
        "value": 2.3,
        "unit": "percent of household net worth",
        "population": "DFA U.S. households",
        "source_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
        "locator": "Net worth field, all five groups, 2026:Q2",
        "calculation": "100 × Bottom50 / all five groups; rounded from 2.304343875"
      }
    ]
  },
  "source_package_sha256": "8f3df98eae7712d4893b7c3620ffee0cdf4d9c51f0b31f4bd94b8c976d745464",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Distributional Financial Accounts data, September 2026 release",
      "url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
      "publisher": "Federal Reserve Board",
      "checked_at": "2026-11-05",
      "provenance": {
        "relationship": "original",
        "origin_url": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/download/zips/dfa.zip",
        "origin_publisher": "Federal Reserve Board",
        "access": "excerpt",
        "locator": "dfa-networth-levels.csv and dfa-networth-shares.csv, Net worth column; all five wealth groups at 1989:Q3 and 2026:Q2. Definitions file for household coverage.",
        "publication_date": "2026-09-18",
        "note": "Official dataset parsed from the downloaded ZIP. Top 1 percent combines TopPt1 and RemainingTop1; shares recomputed from levels before rounding. Household series includes consumer durables and defined-benefit pension entitlements. ZIP SHA-256: e7f35451dc4df13986ef416d8659d00689ad98a9af79f4b09977e41be5e35919. Source-check date records the research day in America/New_York; the handoff did not retain an exact per-source time."
      }
    }
  ],
  "additional_source_checks": [],
  "production": "Original conventional chart using Matplotlib. No generative imagery.",
  "reuse": "Credit Public Rot and the stated data sources; preserve dates, units and qualifying notes.",
  "review_status": "awaiting_separate_editorial_review"
}