The nearly 21 million U.S. households now considered affluent wielded an aggregate income of $3.6 trillion in 2006, a pot expected to cumulatively grow by more than 27% over the next four years to reach $4.6 trillion in 2011, according to The Affluent Market in the U.S., a new report from Packaged Facts.

While affluent households comprise only 18% of all households, the report concludes they now control nearly half of aggregate U.S. household income. However, the super-affluent segment of the market - the 2 million households with an income of $250,000 or more - wields even more leverage over the consumer economy. With an average annual household income of $435,000, super-affluent Americans account for only 1.2% of households but generate 12% of household income.

The report paints a picture of the common traits, core values, and aspirations common to today's highly educated and work-driven affluent Americans who spend big, invest well, and pamper themselves thoroughly. Yet they are also more apt than those of lesser means to exercise regularly, eat well, and share a meal with the family at home rather than eating out.

"Affluents spend nearly one out of every three dollars in the U.S., which shows you the enormous buying power of this demographic," notes Tatjana Meerman, the Managing Editor of Packaged Facts. "On a long-term basis, the distribution of income in the U.S. has increasingly tilted in favor of the highest strata and we see no signs of a slowdown any time soon, which is excellent news for marketers of everything from homes and home furnishings to fashion and leisure."