Is having 3 kids the ultimate status symbol?

One clue that might distinguish the rich from the very rich: Count their kids.Having a third child has become less common in America for every income group — except the highest earners, according to a buzzy analysis of Federal Reserve data by economist Mike Konczal, a former Biden economic official who is currently the vice president of the Economic Security Project.Why it matters: The findings suggest that having a third child may be a luxury that even well-off Americans struggle to afford.By the numbers: Konczal analyzed Fed survey data from 2013 to 2025, focusing on families headed by someone aged 45 to 64 and counting biological, adopted and stepchildren, including those from previous relationships.Among the top 1% of earners, 49% have at least three children, compared with roughly 40% of families in the rest of the top 10%.The gap is wider when families are ranked by wealth instead of income. Half of the families in the wealthiest 1% have at least three kids, compared with 37% of those in the rest of the top 10%.The intrigue: The share of top-1% families with at least three children has held relatively steady since the 1990s, while falling among families further down the inco…

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