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Gap in wealth between rich and middle-income biggest in 30 years

Upper-income households had median assets of $639,400 in 2013, seven times those of middle-income families, the Pew Research Center said.

By Frances Burns

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The wealth gap between the rich in the United States and the middle-class has hit a new record, the Pew Research Center said Wednesday.

Using statistics from the Federal Reserve, Pew said that in 2013 rich households had assets averaging $639,400, while the median wealth of those in the middle-income bracket was $96,500. That gave the rich a cushion almost seven times the size of middle-income families and almost 70 times the assets of those classified as low-income.

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The gap is the biggest since the Federal Reserve began releasing its Survey of Consumer Finances 30 30 years ago.

The growing gap appears to stem from the Great Recession. While those with big incomes have begun to recover, the middle- and low-income groups have not, Pew said.

Pew defines middle-income households as those with incomes between two-thirds and twice the national median, adjusted for family size. Low-income households have make below two-thirds of the median and upper-income ones more than twice the median.

By that measure, 46 percent of the population was middle-income in 2013, one-third lower-income and 21 percent upper.

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Last week, Pew reported that the gap in wealth between white households on the one hand and black and Hispanic ones on the other grew between 2010 and 2013.

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