American workers have lost an estimated 77% of their purchasing power over the past 27 years as measured against gold, according to new research from InvestorsObserver, underscoring how rising asset prices have steadily outpaced wages for families across the country.
The analysis shows that in 1998, the average American income could buy about 91 ounces of gold. By October 2025, that same income purchased just 21 ounces. In New York, a single parent’s earnings once equated to roughly 40 ounces of gold; today, they barely reach about 20.
“Gold-adjusted wages reveal how deeply working families have been hollowed out,” said Sam Bourgi, senior analyst at InvestorsObserver. “Each crisis accelerates a transfer of purchasing power away from labor and toward assets that households simply can’t afford to hold.”
The findings come as gold prices surged to over $4,500 an ounce following renewed geopolitical tensions tied to Venezuela, where instability and U.S. action against Nicolás Maduro triggered a rapid flight to safe-haven assets. Gold jumped more than 2% in hours, while oil and equities wavered.
Another InvestorsObserver study examined how assets perform during global conflicts. Across crises from Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait to recent Middle East tensions, gold averaged 9% gains within 12 months. By contrast, the U.S. dollar posted small but consistent declines, leaving wage earners exposed.
State-level data highlight the strain. Over the past year alone, gold-buying power fell 20% nationwide. Pennsylvania workers dropped from 24 ounces to 18, for example, North Carolina from about 25 to 18, and Florida from 26 to just 19.
“This isn’t abstract economics,” Bourgi said. “It shows up at kitchen tables where parents cut back, postpone college savings, and work longer hours just to stand still.”
The studies conclude that while central banks and large institutions accumulate gold and other hedges, working families shoulder the risk. Their labor supports economic stability, even as the value of that work buys less protection with each passing shock.