• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 17, 2005

Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, Inc., says “Since 2000 the percentage of two-income families with household incomes of $50,000 or more increased from 64.8 to 68.4. Among all households just 44.9 percent have incomes of $50,000 or more.”

• 44.1 percent of two-income families have annual incomes of $75,000 or more
• 25.3 percent of all households have annual incomes of $75,000 or more.
• 25.4 percent of two-income families have incomes of $100,000 or more
• 13.9 percent of all households have annual incomes of $100,000 or more. 

“The media habits of the two-income family continue to evolve”, says Jordan, with “the Internet, radio and outdoor being the only media that indexed more than 100.”  (An index of 100 is the average of all adults in the markets surveyed.)  

“Two-income households are not one homogenous group,” cautions Jordan, “there are significant – if not dramatic – differences within the group.” 

• 63 percent of the two-income households have children present.
• 84.9 percent of all two-income heads of households are between the ages of 25 and 54.
• 69.0 percent of heads of two-income households without children fall in that same age group. 

“The presence or absence of children in the home has a significant impact on how income is spent and what media is accessed,” says Jordan. 

16.4 percent of all two-income families ate the evening meal in a sit-down restaurant at least 4 times in the past two weeks.

20.9 percent of the two-income households without children, ate the evening meal in a sit-down restaurant at least 4 times during the past two weeks.

The heads of two-income households are considerably better educated than the general adult population.

• 46 percent of two-income households have one or more college degrees.
• 49.6 of two-income households without children have one or more college degrees.
• 35.3 percent of all adults in the markets surveyed who have one or more college degrees.

The two-income households without children are slightly more successful at acquiring liquid assets than are all two-income households. 

• 26.1 percent of the group without children have $100,000 or more in liquid assets
• 10.8 percent have $250,000 or more. 
• 24.9 percent of all two-income households have $100,000 or more in liquid assets
• 9.3 percent have $250,000 or more.
• 19.4 percent of all adults have $100,000 or more and
• 7.4 percent have $250,000 or more.

The percentages of two-income households per market range from more than 35  in Omaha, Minneapolis, Madison and Des Moines to less than 24 in San Francisco, Fort Myers, San Jose, Tampa, Tucson, New Haven, Daytona Beach, West Palm Beach and Ocala (FL).