We had a big day behind the scenes here at Political Calculations yesterday, as we updated four of our most popular tools!
First up, with the release of the U.S. Census Bureau's income distribution data for 2014, we generated nonlinear regressions of the latest data for U.S. men, women, individuals, families and households to update our two most frequently visited posts:
- What Is Your Income Percentile Ranking?
Originally posted on 17 September 2014, coinciding with the release of the U.S. Census Bureau's income distribution data for 2013, we updated the tool to now span all years from 2010 through 2014.
- What Is Your U.S. Income Percentile Ranking
First posted on 20 September 2013, when the income distribution data for 2012 was brand new, we've updated this tool to find what your income percentile would be for the years cover the years from 2011 through 2014.
We also generated cumulative income distribution charts for 2014, which we've animated. Each frame will last for three seconds, with the first showing the results for individuals, followed by the frame for families, and then U.S. households, before repeating the cycle.
All in all, it took us about an hour to do all of those updates. So, since we had extra time, and because the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for August 2015 yesterday as well, we also did our regular monthly update of our next two most-visited tools!
- The S&P 500 At Your Fingertips
Our signature tool that allows you to calculate the rate of return, both with and without the effects of inflation and with and without the reinvestment of dividends, for an investment in the S&P 500 stock market index or its predecessor indices and components, between any two months since January 1871.
- Investing Through Time
Using the same raw data that's behind our S&P 500 At Your Fingertips tool, this is our tool that will let you work out how any investment you might have made between any two months since January 1871 would have fared.
So, if you didn't like your income percentile, at least now you have some idea of what it might take to invest your way up in the rankings.