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Richard Fry

Senior Researcher

Expertise:Demographics and Social Trends

Richard Fry is a senior researcher at Pew Research Center. He is an expert on school and college enrollment in the United States, as well as the returns to education in the labor market and marriage market, and its connection to household economic well-being such as net worth. Fry’s analyses are largely empirical, as he has extensive expertise analyzing U.S. Census Bureau and other federal data collections. Before joining Pew Research Center in 2002, he was a senior economist at the Educational Testing Service. Fry received his doctorate in economics from the University of Michigan. Fry regularly documents U.S. educational and enrollment milestones, the economic well-being of the nation’s young adults, the role of student debt in financing college education, and the changing relationship between education and marriage and cohabitation.

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short readsJan 20, 2015

Hispanics to benefit from Obama’s community college plan

More Hispanics are already enrolled in college than ever before and, among those who are, nearly half (46%) attend a public two-year school, the highest share of any race or ethnicity.
short readsDec 17, 2014

America’s wealth gap between middle-income and upper-income families is widest on record

The gap between America’s upper-income and middle-income families has reached its highest level on record. In 2013, the median wealth of the nation’s upper-income families ($639,400) was nearly seven times the median wealth of middle-income families ($96,500).
short readsDec 12, 2014

Wealth inequality has widened along racial, ethnic lines since end of Great Recession

The median wealth of white households was 13 times the wealth of black households and 10 times that of Hispanic households in 2013, compared with eight and nine times, respectively, in 2010.
reportOct 7, 2014

The Changing Profile of Student Borrowers

In 2012, a record 69% of the nation’s new college graduates had taken out student loans to finance their education. Graduates from more affluent families are much more likely to borrow today than 20 years ago.
short readsOct 2, 2014

U.S. high school dropout rate reaches record low, driven by improvements among Hispanics, blacks

Just 7% of the nation’s 18-to-24 year olds had dropped out of high school in 2013, continuing a steady decline in the nation’s dropout rate since 2000, when 12% of youth were dropouts.
short readsSep 18, 2014

The nation’s wealth recovers, but largely for those at the top

The nation’s aggregate wealth continues to show signs of recovery, but that wealth recovery has been concentrated on the wealthiest Americans. Meanwhile, the aggregate net worth for America’s economic middle is actually declining.
short readsAug 18, 2014

Dept. of Ed. projects public schools will be ‘majority-minority’ this fall

A steady demographic change over the years has resulted in a decline in the number of whites in classrooms.
reportJul 17, 2014

In Post-Recession Era, Young Adults Drive Continuing Rise in Multi-Generational Living

The number of Americans living in multi-generational households, which spiked during the Great Recession, has risen to a record 57 million in 2012, including about one-in-four young adults ages 25-34.
short readsMay 16, 2014

Public school enrollment disparities exist 60 years after historic desegregation ruling

Sixty years after the historic Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, schools are more integrated but white students are significantly less likely than minorities to attend diverse schools.
short readsMay 14, 2014

5 key findings about student debt

A record 37% of young households had outstanding student loans in 2010 and a median student debt of $13,000.