$341,000
The median value of a home in Charles County, Md. — a fast-growing suburb of Washington, D.C. where parents move to give their children the best opportunities their money can buy. (Census)
33%
The percent Toll Brothers, the high-end homebuilder, has seen its stock go up in the last year. New home construction is one of the building blocks of today’s consumer economy. It’s up in many places, so much that builders have trouble finding skilled workers. Lots of new subdivisions out there. (YCharts)
$49,705
The average annual expenditure of a “consumer unit” in 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s really only a notch below $50,486, the number for 2008 (during the height of the financial crisis). (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
125,000,000
The number of iPhones sold as of October 2012, up from just one million way back in September 2007. That’s a whole lot of rugrats running around playing Angry Birds, people. (CNet)
$3,299
The price tag on a video game development camp to send your budding programmer. Even the good old fashioned YMCA camps will run you $150-400 per kid, per week. (Fiscal Times)
$986 billion
The total amount of student loan debt in the U.S., as of March 2013. Hope those college degrees are paying off! (NY Fed)