Assets exceeded debt by $113,149 for the median white household in 2009, down from $134,992 in 2005. For blacks, net worth decreased to $5,677 from $12,124 four years earlier, and for Hispanics it dropped to $6,325 from $18,359. The level for blacks and Hispanics was the lowest since at least 1984.
Among Asians
The decline among Asians was even more precipitous, according to the researchers. Median wealth for those households stood at $168,103 in 2005, putting them at the top of the rankings, and fell to $78,066 two years ago, according to the data.
As with Hispanics, Asians lived in areas like California that suffered most from the decline in housing, the report said. In addition, the arrival of immigrants, who typically have less wealth than their more established counterparts, contributed to the decline, according to the study.
The findings were based on analysis of data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, a questionnaire that is periodically distributed by the Census Bureau, the report said.
Pew researchers said it is considered the most comprehensive source of data about household wealth in the United States by race and ethnicity. Figures from the 2009 report were only recently made available.
Comparable Figures
In order to make the 2009 figures comparable to prior years, the researchers adjusted the data from two years ago to allow for the inclusion of Hispanics in the white and black categories, consistent with Census Bureau methodology. Excluding Hispanics from the racial groups, the ratio of white-to-black net worth would have been 20 to 1 in 2009, the report said.
The gap has probably widened since as the housing market continues to struggle while stocks have rebounded, the report said. Home values dropped 7.8 percent from the end of 2009 through March, according to figures from S&P/Case-Shiller, while the S&P 500 Index climbed 19 percent.