Wealth in America Survey

provided by

On the eve of the holiday season, the CNBC/Portfolio.com Wealth in America Survey finds Americans painting a deeply grim picture of the current state of the economy with bleak implications for holiday spending.

Here, we break down the data from that survey, looking at, among other things, whether men or women are more pessimistic about the economy, which parts of the country are cutting back most, and whether Democrats or Republicans are most optimistic about the coming year.

Young people are more bullish than older people about wage growth:

Age 18-34:
54% believe they will get an increase in wages next year
Average wage increase expected is 5.4%
Median wage increase expected is 0.9%

Age 35-49:
40% believe they will get an increase in wages next year
Average wage increase expected is 4.2%
Median wage change expected is a decline of -0.6%

Age 50-64:
31% believe they will get an increase in wages next year
Average wage increase expected is 1.0%
Median wage change expected is a decline of -1.0%

Professionals / Executives are more pessimistic about the economy than their employees:

Professionals / Executives:
60% are pessimistic about the economy now and for the future
31% are pessimistic about the economy now and but optimistic about the future

White-Collar Employees:
47% are pessimistic about the economy now and for the future
44% are pessimistic about the economy now and but optimistic about the future

Blue-Collar Employees:
52% are pessimistic about the economy now and for the future
39% are pessimistic about the economy now and but optimistic about the future

Average holiday shopping budgets vary by region but Northeastern farmers appear to be the most generous:

Nationally, the average respondent plans to spend $704

The Northeast has the highest average planned spend at $1,054

The Midwest has the lowest average planned spend at $517

The average for the South is $628

The average for the West is $650

Small town / Rural respondents plan to spend an average of $939 while suburbanites plan to spend an average of $689.

Urban shoppers plan to spend $761 on average.

While the divide in holiday spend is also driven by wage level, the more affluent do not spend extensively more than middle income respondents:

Avg spend for those making $30-50K per year: $457

Avg spend for those making $50-75K per year: $1,084

Avg spend for those making $75-100K per year: $1,058

Avg spend for those making over $100K per year: $1,206

Page 1 | 2