The 2021 American Housing Survey revealed that 84% of respondents had access to a tumble dryer at their home to quickly dry their clothes. This means they either owned a dryer in their home or had a dryer easily accessible within their condo building or apartment complex. Easy access to a dryer is not a symbol of wealth in the United States.
Less than a third of Europeans have that same easy access to tumble dryers. While demand for dryers in Europe is rising in some wealthier countries, like Germany, the tradition of hanging clothes out to dry and a culture that avoids unnecessary expenditures of energy has kept tumble dryers as a luxury good for wealthy Europeans rather than a staple of the middle class.
In the United States, dryers are considered a necessity by most Americans. Rent a luxury villa in Greece with an infinity pool overlooking the Aegean Sea, and you may find yourself with only a drying rack to dry your clothes. Tumble dryers are not part of the assumed package of basic goods in most European countries, or most of the world, so even some of the wealthiest members of society do not have them. These wealthy individuals do not lack dryers because they cannot afford them; they simply have not thought to spend their money on a dryer since they already have a drying rack that works just fine.
A True Global Basket of Goods Does Not Exist
Cost of living assessments typically rely on a common “basket of goods” in order to compare costs across various locations. A basket of goods will always contain expenses like food, housing, medical expenses, apparel and household goods, transportation, and energy. This comparison is helpful (although not perfect) when comparing the cost of living in Boston to the cost of living in Baltimore, but global cultural differences significantly impact the ability to standardize the basket of goods across larger regions.
Eliminating a dryer from the basket of goods eliminates the flat cost of the appliance as well as the ongoing energy costs associated with running the appliance. There is a consistent fee for the American lifestyle of owning and operating a dryer.
Over time, the basket of goods that the global middle class assumes is standard expands. The majority of the global population now owns a smartphone, almost certainly qualifying this for a global basket of goods. I first knew people who owned smartphones when I went to a private university in 2009, since just fifteen years ago only wealthy individuals had smartphones. Two years later, I owned my first smartphone, along with much of the American upper middle class. Now, the teenager making money shuttling people around Delhi in a tuk-tuk needs a smartphone to operate his business. The whole world adopted smartphones as a necessity.
But the world has not adopted dryers, which have been around for much longer than smartphones. Global adoption of technology is not a given, making it difficult to compare wealth and cost of living from country to country.
A Luxurious American Basket
Americans have particularly expensive habits relative to global norms. Maintaining a lawn with grass, regardless of the local environment, has extravagant ongoing maintenance costs. Driving trucks and SUVs comes with large car payments and ongoing fuel costs beyond that of the wealthiest individuals in other countries. Even car ownership as a norm is an expensive habit relative to the remainder of the world: Americans have 908 cars per 1,000 people as of 2023. Only a few tiny enclaves known for extreme wealth, like Guernsey and Monaco, top the United States in car ownership per capita. Only 12% of the global population owns a car, but most Americans do not know how to live without one.
American extravagance is apparent even when looking at technology, despite the global proliferation of smartphones. Few Americans own only a smartphone: Most have a big screen TV, tablet, laptop, gaming system, Kindle, AirPods, and/or an Amazon Alexa (my least favorite device for obvious reasons). Patrick and I own some of these items, and this recognition is not to shame the American appetite for new technology. Our household needs laptops with extra screens to run this business! However, acknowledging that our big screen TV and tablet are luxury items is important to stay grounded in a country where many people struggling to afford groceries own these items without accepting that they may have prioritized luxuries over necessities.
Income Realities
The United States consistently falls in the top five countries when looking at the median net income of individuals or households over the last few years. The United States’ adjusted net national income per capita came in fourth at about $59,001 in 2021 according to the World Bank. That is far above neighboring Canada at $41,986, wealthy European giant Germany at $42,982, or technological powerhouse Estonia at $22,462. Countries like Greece fall under $20,000, and global superpowers China and Russia both come in under $10,000. The global median net income per capita is still below $10,000.
Americans, on average, are rich. Extremely rich. The median American is six times richer than the global median. In fact, the American poverty line is more than 50% higher than the global median net income per capita. About 11.5% of Americans make less than the poverty line, but many of these Americans still fall into the higher half of global incomes.
Despite being wealthier than more than half of the world, life is undoubtedly difficult for an American in the poorest 10% of the country because their surrounding communities are built for wealthier realities. Challenges exist when living in a society of abundance that would not exist otherwise. Many towns are built around the assumption that all households own a car. This can be particularly true when someone with a low income must commute from a location with affordable housing to their place of employment. Surrounding abundance can make average wealth feel poorer than it would be otherwise because communal conveniences are geared towards wealthier individuals.
This means the poorest Americans are middle class by global standards, but assumptions of abundance baked into the organization of their communities may make them feel poorer than much poorer individuals living in areas with lower median incomes. All of us assess our wealth, or lack thereof, according to our ability to thrive in our surroundings. Particularly in societies where abundance is the norm, relative deprivation can make individuals with average incomes feel poor compared to affluent peers.
Appreciating Our Wealth
While living under the poverty line is a terrible reality in the United States, much of the American middle class feels financially insecure. Those people around the $59,001 net income mark often live paycheck-to-paycheck or struggle to buy groceries. Some of this cannot be prevented: The American healthcare system often places huge financial burdens on individuals and families funding care for unexpected diagnoses. However, most people around the median have the opportunity to appreciate their wealth with a mindset shift.
The second we acknowledge that we do not need a truck, big screen TV, or green lawn, we all can feel a little wealthier. Most of the world does not have these luxuries. These are pieces of American culture that we have added to the most inflated basket of goods in the history of the world. Picking your favorite luxury good is a positive way of enjoying modernity. But picking all of these luxuries while struggling to purchase groceries is problematic.
Dryers are great. I remember the one summer I had to walk down the street to access a washer and dryer. In only a couple months without dryer access, I was perpetually annoyed by the requirement to plan laundry days around the weather. A surprise rainstorm that arrived mid-laundry completely ruined my day. But I was making $8.75/hour, and the thought of prioritizing dryer access above other expenses never crossed my mind. Food came first. Even saving for the next few months superseded dryer proximity.
Access to abundance is wonderful, but pausing to remember what goods are truly necessary can instantly make anyone in the American middle class feel wealthier.
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