Statistics · 2026 · Real Estate
Net Worth Statistics (2026)
The median U.S. family had a net worth of $215,900 in 2025, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, up 2% from 2022 after inflation. The average was $1.24 million, pulled up by the richest families. Net worth peaks at $504,900 for families headed by someone 75 or older, and homeowners hold about 43 times the median wealth of renters.
Key takeaways
- Median family net worth was $215,900 in 2025 and the mean was $1.24 million, both in 2025 dollars.
- The median rose 2.3% from $211,100 in 2022, while the mean rose 6.6%.
- Families headed by someone under 35 had a median of $33,000, down 23% since 2022.
- Homeowners had a median net worth of $458,900, against $10,600 for renters.
- By WealthyBud’s calculation from the Fed’s public data, the top 10% starts near $2.5 million and the top 1% near $16.3 million.
- About 22% of families had a net worth of $1 million or more, and 8% owed more than they owned.
What is the median net worth in the U.S.?
The median American family had a net worth of $215,900 in 2025, the Federal Reserve reports. Half of families had more and half had less. The mean, or average, was $1.24 million, about 5.8 times the median, because a small number of very wealthy families raise the average.
1. Median net worth: $215,900 in 2025
Net worth is everything a family owns, such as homes, retirement accounts, stocks, cars and businesses, minus everything it owes. The Fed’s Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025 report puts the 2025 median at $215,900, measured in 2025 dollars.
2. Up 2% since 2022 after inflation
The 2022 median was $211,100 in 2025 dollars. The mean rose faster, by 7%, to $1.24 million from $1.16 million. The Fed says wealth inequality looks little changed since 2022.
3. Median family income: $82,200, up 7%
Real median before-tax income was $82,200 for 2024, the year before the survey, against $76,900 three years earlier. Mean income fell to $145,200 (Fed historical tables, Table 1).
The Survey of Consumer Finances is the Fed’s main source on family balance sheets. It runs every three years, interviews a few thousand families, and oversamples wealthy households so the top of the distribution is measured well. All dollar figures on this page are in 2025 dollars unless noted.
What is the average net worth by age?
Net worth climbs with age. In 2025 the median was $33,000 for families headed by someone under 35, $155,600 at 35 to 44 and $253,700 at 45 to 54. It reached $411,900 at 55 to 64 and peaked at $504,900 for ages 75 and older.
4. Under 35: median $33,000, down 23% since 2022
Young families were the one age group whose median fell sharply, from $42,700 in 2022. Their mean dropped to $135,400. Only 35.6% of them owned a home (Table 9).
5. Ages 55 to 64: median $411,900, mean $1.88 million
Families near retirement have had decades to pay down mortgages and build retirement accounts. Their median is about 12 times that of families under 35.
6. 75 and older: median $504,900, up 38%
The oldest families posted the largest gain of any age group, from $367,200 in 2022. Their mean was $1.96 million, the highest of any age group.
7. The average (mean) is far above the median at every age
For ages 45 to 54 the mean was $1.24 million against a median of $253,700. Quoting the average overstates what a typical family has, so use the median to compare yourself with peers.
| Age | Median 2022 | Median 2025 | Change | Mean 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $42,700 | $33,000 | −23% | $135,400 |
| 35 to 44 | $148,400 | $155,600 | +5% | $681,900 |
| 45 to 54 | $270,600 | $253,700 | −6% | $1.24 million |
| 55 to 64 | $398,900 | $411,900 | +3% | $1.88 million |
| 65 to 74 | $448,600 | $431,300 | −4% | $1.90 million |
| 75 and older | $367,200 | $504,900 | +38% | $1.96 million |
| All families | $211,100 | $215,900 | +2% | $1.24 million |
The Fed groups families by the age of the “reference person,” usually the main earner or the older member of a couple. It does not publish single-year ages.
How much net worth puts you in the top 10% or top 1%?
By WealthyBud’s calculation from the Fed’s public 2025 dataset, a family needed about $2.5 million to reach the top 10% and about $16.3 million to reach the top 1%. The top quarter started near $813,000, and the bottom quarter had $27,900 or less.
8. Top 10% cutoff: about $2.5 million
Families at the 90th percentile had about $2,538,500. The median family inside the top 10% held $4.94 million, per the Fed’s Table 4. These cutoffs come from the public summary dataset (WealthyBud data · 4,360 surveyed families · 2025 SCF public data).
9. Top 1% cutoff: about $16.3 million
The 99th percentile sat near $16,269,700, and the 95th near $4,937,400. The public file rounds and blurs some values to protect respondents, so treat these as close estimates.
10. 22% of families were worth $1 million or more
More than one family in five had a net worth of at least $1 million in 2025, home equity and retirement accounts included. At the other end, 8.1% had negative net worth (WealthyBud calculation, same data).
| Percentile | Net worth at the cutoff |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $27,900 |
| Median (50th) | $216,100 |
| Top 25% | $813,000 |
| Top 10% | $2.5 million |
| Top 5% | $4.9 million |
| Top 1% | $16.3 million |
| Net worth group | Median net worth |
|---|---|
| Bottom 25% | $1,700 |
| 25th–50th | $100,900 |
| 50th–75th | $405,700 |
| 75th–90th | $1.27 million |
| Top 10% | $4.94 million |
The public dataset’s weighted median is $216,100, within 0.1% of the Fed’s official $215,900, which uses the full internal data.
How much wealth do homeowners have compared with renters?
Homeowners are far wealthier. The median homeowner family had a net worth of $458,900 in 2025, while the median renter family had $10,600, a gap of about 43 to 1. 65.6% of families owned their home, about the same share as in 2022, the Fed reports.
11. Homeowners: median $458,900; renters: $10,600
Mean net worth was $1.81 million for owners and $153,500 for renters (Table 4). Home equity is the largest asset for most middle-class families, and owners also tend to be older and higher-earning.
12. 65.6% of families own their primary residence
Ownership rises from 35.6% for families under 35 to 82.3% for those 75 and older. The Fed reports that the median owner’s home equity rose to $230,000 in 2025.
13. 13.8% own other residential real estate
That category covers second homes, vacation homes and rental property. The share peaks at 20.4% for families aged 55 to 64. 15.4% of families own business equity (Table 9).
The link runs both ways: wealthier families can afford to buy, and owning builds equity as the loan is paid down and the home appreciates. See homeownership statistics for Census tenure data and home equity statistics for the Fed’s aggregate owner equity.
How does net worth vary by income and education?
Net worth rises steeply with income and schooling. Families in the top 10% by income had a median net worth of $3.65 million in 2025, against $13,100 for the bottom 20%. Families headed by a college graduate had a median of $505,400, against $106,700 with a high school diploma.
14. Top 10% of earners: median net worth $3.65 million
That is about 278 times the $13,100 median of the lowest-income fifth of families. The middle fifth, the 40th to 60th income percentiles, had a median of $204,400.
15. College degree: median $505,400
Families whose head had no high school diploma had a median of $18,600, and those with some college had $181,000 (Table 4).
16. Couples without children: median $469,000
Couples with children had $333,000. Single parents had $45,800, and single adults under 55 with no children had $25,400.
| Income group | Median net worth | Mean net worth |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 20% | $13,100 | $145,200 |
| 20th–40th | $79,400 | $254,300 |
| 40th–60th | $204,400 | $463,700 |
| 60th–80th | $375,500 | $795,500 |
| 80th–90th | $845,200 | $1.43 million |
| Top 10% | $3.65 million | $7.66 million |
How has U.S. net worth changed since 1989?
After inflation, median net worth rose from $118,400 in 1989 to $188,900 in 2007, then fell to $113,100 by 2013 after the housing crash. It recovered to $154,400 in 2019, jumped to $211,100 in 2022 and reached a record $215,900 in 2025.
17. Record high: $215,900 in 2025
The 2025 median is the highest in the modern survey, which started in 1989. It is 40% above 2019, and most of that gain came between 2019 and 2022, when the median rose 37%.
18. Stock ownership: 56.2% of families, median holding $77,400
Direct or indirect stock ownership, including retirement accounts, slipped from 58.0% in 2022. Among holders, the median stake rose to $77,400 from $56,900 (Table 7).
19. 11.1% of borrowers pay over 40% of income on debt
The share of families with debt whose payments exceed 40% of income rose from 8.4% in 2022, the highest since 2010 (Table 18). The Fed flags it as a sign of rising financial stress.
| Survey year | Median net worth | Mean net worth |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | $118,400 | $469,200 |
| 1992 | $112,300 | $423,100 |
| 1995 | $122,500 | $449,200 |
| 1998 | $143,100 | $564,400 |
| 2001 | $158,600 | $728,100 |
| 2004 | $160,100 | $772,700 |
| 2007 | $188,900 | $873,500 |
| 2010 | $115,500 | $745,300 |
| 2013 | $113,100 | $744,700 |
| 2016 | $131,300 | $934,000 |
| 2019 | $154,400 | $949,900 |
| 2022 | $211,100 | $1.16 million |
| 2025 | $215,900 | $1.24 million |
What this means for savers and investors
- Compare with the median for your age, not the average. The mean is pulled up by a small group of very wealthy families, so it overstates the typical balance sheet at every age.
- Housing is the main wealth builder for the middle class. Owners’ 43-to-1 lead over renters is why buying, when the numbers work, matters. Check the income needed to buy a home and the price-to-income ratio in your metro first.
- Few families own investment property. Only 13.8% of families own residential property beyond their home. Screen markets on the best places to invest in real estate list and test a deal in the deal analyzer.
- Watch debt payments. With 11.1% of borrowers over a 40% payment-to-income ratio, read household debt statistics and mortgage denial rate statistics before taking on a new loan.
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