Contact: Jay Zagorsky, (617) 713-4447; [email protected]
Jennifer Hering, (614) 442-7350; [email protected]
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; [email protected]
U.S. PARENTS HAND OVER ABOUT $1 BILLION TO THEIR TEENS EACH WEEK
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- About half of American teenagers get an allowance from their parents, and most typically get about $50 a week, according to a recently released nationwide survey.
These allowances pack a big punch in the American economy: the results suggest about 9.8 million U.S. teenagers are given $1.05 billion to spend each week.
"When you figure that most teens don't have bills or other financial responsibilities, this means they have a lot of money to spend as they wish," said Jay Zagorsky, a research scientist at Ohio State University's Center for Human Resource Research (CHRR).
"It's easy to see why teens are such an important demographic group for retailers and advertisers."
The statistics come from the latest round of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a comprehensive, federally funded survey of 8,984 randomly chosen children aged 12 to 18. The survey -- which examines everything from school to work to social development -- includes detailed information about teen allowances.
The survey is conducted for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by Ohio State. Zagorsky and Jennifer Hering, also with CHRR, recently analyzed data from the 1997 survey, the most recent.
Zagorsky cautioned that the survey was based on what teens said they received from parents, with no confirmation from parents. The results included all money parents give to their teens during the week, so it may include money above and beyond any fixed amount given as allowance. For example, if a teenager occasionally receives extra money from parents to go to the movies, this cash would be included in the survey.
Although $50 a week may seem like a lot to parents who remember receiving much less as youths, Zagorsky pointed out that inflation has taken a toll over the years. "The price of nearly everything has gone up over the years, and that probably includes children's allowances," he said.
Still, even today there is a good deal of variation in which teens get allowances and how much they receive. "We found a variety of factors, from household income to the teenager's age, and even religion, affected allowances," Hering said.
As might be expected, teens from high income families are more likely to receive allowance and, when they do, receive more cash than others. For example, in households that earn $20,000 to $30,000 a year, about 49 percent of teens receive allowances, 10 percent less than those from families making more than $100,000 a year.
"Teens from these highest income families get a staggering amount of money to spend -- an average of $175 a week," said Hering. "This compares to an average of $19 a week for those in families making $20,000 to $30,000."
Parents can be more generous if they have fewer children, the survey found. In families with one or two children, about 51 percent of teens get an allowance, and it averages about $55 a week. However, when there are five or more children in the family, only 39 percent of children get money from their parents, and it averages just $23 a week.
Analysis of the survey found that regional differences play a role in allowances too. The most well-off teens are those from the states around the Great Lakes (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan), who receive an average weekly allowance of about $75 -- about twice as much as Southern teens, who receive between $30 and $38 weekly. Household income is lower in the South, which is probably a major reason that teens there get a smaller average allowance, according to Zagorsky.
Results showed that children from nearly all religious backgrounds were about equally likely to receive an allowance. The biggest exception was Mormon teens -- about 36 percent of them received an allowance, about 15 percent fewer than other denominations.
About 60 percent of 12-year-olds received an allowance, compared to just 38 percent of 18-year-olds, the survey found. "Older teens are less likely to get an allowance as they get jobs and become more independent," Hering said.
Overall, though the results show that teenagers have a lot of money under their control, Hering noted. "This group has a steady and frequent source of cash for their purchases so they will attract a lot of attention from businesses."
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