No, you probably aren’t wealthier as a ‘double-income, no kids’ DINK. The married couples are better off, Pew finds

One of the main reasons: home ownership. DINKS may have higher household incomes and more advanced degrees, but they own fewer homes, resulting in less equity. Having children often pushes couples into homeownership: 71% of DINKs own a home, compared to 79% of dual-income couples with children.

Age is also an important factor, as people tend to accumulate more wealth as they age. The average age of the older spouse in DINK couples is 36, compared to 43 among dual-income couples with children, the study found.

The ages measured in the survey are mostly late Millennials and early Gen Xers. Pew research describes DINK couples as married couples in which at least one spouse is 30 to 49 years old. Both spouses work and earn income, and neither spouse has ever had any children.

When you zoom out to total wealth, which includes savings, investments, retirement accounts and debt, the gap widens: DINKs have $214,700 on average, while couples with children have $361,500. DINKs have $165,000 in home equity, compared to $222,000 for couples with children, but that’s just a residential piece of their finances.

Families with children have more wealth, but home ownership is becoming less achievable

Although children drive adults to flock to the suburbs, current DINKs may have children in the future. However, one of the biggest headwinds is that homeownership is becoming less achievable for younger Americans.

The average age of first-time homeownership has now jumped to a record high of 40, due to higher mortgage rates and rising prices, according to the National Association of Realtors. In comparison, about four years ago, the average age was only 33 years. When the survey was first conducted in 1981, the average age was 29 years.

Today, the median current home price is $415,200, up more than 50% since 2019. Meanwhile, mortgage rates are almost twice as high as they were in late 2021. When baby boomers bought their first homes in 1981, the median home price was just $68,900 — even though mortgage rates averaged about 16% at the time.

Boomers showed that comfortable homeownership led to more wealth

While younger generations struggled to come up with payments on their first home, boomers bought homes when ownership was affordable, leading them to hold most of the country’s wealth today.

Boomers have amassed a collective net worth of $82 trillion, more than double the wealth of Generation X ($42 trillion) and four times the wealth of Millennials ($16 trillion), according to data from Investopedia.

The tension between generations deepens. High home prices and limited market supply are keeping younger buyers away. Even more troubling for young people is that boomers are choosing to keep their homes to pass down to their children or their ages, and reap the benefits from increased home values.

Ultimately, the rise of these parties reveals less about shifting priorities and more about economic realities that are reshaping what the American dream looks like for a new generation.