Today, the New York Fed published the inaugural results of its new monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations.
The survey polls consumers about expectations for various things including inflation, house prices, and earnings growth. The data are useful because they break these responses down into various demographic groups, like age, education level, income bracket, and geographic region.
The charts below illustrate how different groups of consumers are feeling about different aspects of the economy at the moment.
1. Senior citizens expect higher inflation than their younger counterparts.
2. College graduates have higher expectations for inflation than those with less education.
3. Yet those making the least money also have the highest expectations for inflation.
4. Inflation expectations are highest in the South and lowest in the Midwest.
5. Senior citizens expect the biggest rise in home prices over the next year, while Millennials are the most pessimistic.
6. Those who didn't go to college expect home prices to rise about the same amount as those who graduated from college, but those with only some college are more optimistic.
7. Those in middle-class income brackets are most optimistic about house prices in 2014.
8. Those in the South expect home prices to rise most over the next year, while those in the Midwest expect the least home price appreciation.
9. Young people are relatively optimistic about earnings growth. Senior citizens are not.
10. The more education you have, the more optimistic you're likely to be about earnings growth over the next year.
11. Likewise, those with higher incomes expect higher earnings growth.
12. Those in the West are most optimistic on earnings growth, while those in the Midwest are least optimistic.
13. The younger you are, the more secure you're likely to feel in your current job.