Survey of Consumer Finances

The SCF is conducted every three years to provide detailed information on the finances of U.S. families (households). The study is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board in cooperation with the Department of the Treasury and is widely used by the Federal Reserve, other branches of the U.S. government and researchers worldwide for insights and analysis regarding U.S. household finances. Respondents are selected through a geographically based random sample and a special oversample of relatively wealthy families. This process is designed to produce reliable information both on attributes that are broadly distributed in the population (such as homeownership) and on those that are highly concentrated in a relatively small part of the population (such as closely held businesses). The survey collects information on total family income for the calendar year preceding the survey, as well as a wide range of financial characteristics at the time of the interview, including details on assets and debts, use of various financial services, pension information, labor force participation and demographic characteristics. The most recent survey for which data are available was conducted in 2007. Because the survey questionnaire has changed only slightly since 1989, data available from the 1989, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2004 surveys are comparable to the 2007 survey. Approximately 4,700 families were interviewed for the 2007 survey.