Net worth by age · United States
Net worth by age: a typical U.S. family had $215,900 in 2025, and each older age group had more than the last
About this number
The median net worth of a family headed by someone under 35 was $33,000 in 2025, rising to $504,900 for families headed by someone 75 or older, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances. Median means the family in the middle: half had less and half had more.
Net worth is everything a family owns, such as its home, savings, vehicles and retirement accounts, minus everything it owes. The average (mean) runs far higher, $1.24 million for all families, because a few very wealthy families pull it up.
What is the median net worth at each age?
The median rises with every older age group, to $504,900 at 75 and older. Look at the size of the steps. Net worth climbs most from the 45 to 54 group to the 55 to 64 group, by $158,200. It barely moves from the 55 to 64 group to the 65 to 74 group, by $19,400.
Median net worth rises from $33,000 for families under 35 to $504,900 at 75 and older
Median net worth of U.S. families by age of the family’s reference person, 2025 survey, in 2025 dollars. The dashed line is the median for all families, $215,900.
The table puts the average (mean) next to the median for each age group.
| Age of reference person | Median (typical family) | Average (mean) | Average as a multiple of the median (times) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $33,000 | $135,400 | 4.1 |
| 35 to 44 | $155,600 | $681,900 | 4.4 |
| 45 to 54 | $253,700 | $1.24 million | 4.9 |
| 55 to 64 | $411,900 | $1.88 million | 4.6 |
| 65 to 74 | $431,300 | $1.9 million | 4.4 |
| 75 and older | $504,900 | $1.96 million | 3.9 |
| All families | $215,900 | $1.24 million | 5.8 |
Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances, 2025 survey, in 2025 dollars. Age is the age of the family’s reference person. The last column is our calculation.
The Federal Reserve Board says net worth tends to rise through a working life as people save for retirement, then level off or fall as they spend those savings. This table compares different families at one moment. It doesn’t follow one family through its life.
Why is average net worth so much higher than the median?
The average, or mean, adds up every family’s net worth and divides by the number of families, so a handful of very wealthy families lifts it. For all families it was $1.24 million in 2025, more than five times the median. The gap has widened: in 1989 the average was 4 times the median.
The average was higher than the median in every age group, from 3.9 times the median at 75 and older to 4.9 times at 45 to 54. For what a typical family has, the median is the better guide, and it’s the figure used in the headline and chart on this page.
Has net worth by age gone up or down since 2022?
It depends on age. Median net worth for families under 35 fell about a quarter, from $42,700 in 2022 to $33,000 in 2025, while for families 75 and older it rose by more than a third, from $367,200 to $504,900. Both years are in 2025 dollars, so the comparison leaves out inflation.
| Age of reference person | 2022 median | 2025 median | Change since 2022 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $42,700 | $33,000 | −23 |
| 35 to 44 | $148,400 | $155,600 | +5 |
| 45 to 54 | $270,600 | $253,700 | −6 |
| 55 to 64 | $398,900 | $411,900 | +3 |
| 65 to 74 | $448,600 | $431,300 | −4 |
| 75 and older | $367,200 | $504,900 | +38 |
| All families | $211,100 | $215,900 | +2 |
Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances, in 2025 dollars for both surveys. Percent changes are our calculations.
The Federal Reserve Board says most of the drop for young families came from business ownership gains made between 2019 and 2022 unwinding, and that the rise at 75 and older came mainly from a rise in the value of retirement accounts. Its report is linked in Sources and method.
Since 1989, families 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 have gained the least
Over the longer run the picture is uneven. Since 1989, the first survey in the Board’s table, median net worth in 2025 dollars is up 9% for families 35 to 44 and 2% for families 45 to 54, but up 176% for families 75 and older. The table at the bottom of this page has every survey in between.
These are survey estimates, so a small change may be sampling noise. We haven’t tested which changes are larger than the survey’s margin of error.
How does net worth differ for homeowners and renters?
Homeowner families had a median net worth of $458,900 in 2025, against $10,600 for renter families, meaning families that don’t own their home. For an owner the home counts as an asset and the mortgage as a debt.
The Federal Reserve Board’s table splits net worth by age or by owning, not both at once, so these figures are for all ages. The full record for each is on homeowner families’ median net worth → and renter families’ median net worth →
Where can you get help if money is tight?
A low net worth doesn’t mean something is wrong with your finances, especially early in life, but it can leave little cushion for a surprise bill. A nonprofit credit counselor can go over your budget with you for free or a low fee. Our directory lists free and low-cost help near you.
If a debt has been sent to a collector, your rights under federal law are on our help page. If the mortgage is hard to pay, start with what to do when you’re behind on your mortgage.
Median net worth by age, every survey since 1989
Each row is one survey, newest first, in 2025 dollars. The Federal Reserve Board re-states every survey in 2025 dollars, so older years don’t match figures printed in older reports. Age is the age of the family’s reference person. Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances.
| Survey | Under 35 | 35 to 44 | 45 to 54 | 55 to 64 | 65 to 74 | 75 and older | All families |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $33,000 | $155,600 | $253,700 | $411,900 | $431,300 | $504,900 | $215,900 |
| 2022 | $42,700 | $148,400 | $270,600 | $398,900 | $448,600 | $367,200 | $211,100 |
| 2019 | $17,600 | $115,900 | $213,900 | $269,500 | $337,900 | $323,300 | $154,400 |
| 2016 | $14,800 | $80,800 | $167,600 | $252,800 | $301,500 | $357,400 | $131,300 |
| 2013 | $14,400 | $65,100 | $146,700 | $231,100 | $323,300 | $271,300 | $113,100 |
| 2010 | $13,900 | $63,000 | $176,200 | $268,100 | $308,900 | $324,000 | $115,500 |
| 2007 | $18,500 | $138,200 | $289,600 | $398,000 | $375,000 | $334,400 | $188,900 |
| 2004 | $24,400 | $119,400 | $249,700 | $433,400 | $327,000 | $280,500 | $160,100 |
| 2001 | $21,400 | $142,200 | $246,600 | $339,600 | $325,700 | $284,500 | $158,600 |
| 1998 | $18,200 | $126,600 | $210,800 | $255,200 | $292,300 | $250,600 | $143,100 |
| 1995 | $25,400 | $110,700 | $201,000 | $244,600 | $235,000 | $197,000 | $122,500 |
| 1992 | $20,900 | $101,200 | $177,400 | $258,500 | $223,700 | $197,000 | $112,300 |
| 1989 | $19,700 | $142,400 | $249,100 | $246,900 | $193,500 | $182,800 | $118,400 |
Questions about net worth by age
What is the average net worth by age?
The Federal Reserve Board’s average (mean) net worth was $1.24 million for all U.S. families in 2025, from $135,400 for families under 35 up to $1.96 million for families 75 and older. The table above has the average and the median for every age group. The average is much higher than the median because a few very wealthy families pull it up, so the median is the better guide to a typical family.
Does net worth include a home and retirement accounts?
Yes. The Federal Reserve Board defines net worth as a family’s assets minus its debts. Assets include the family’s home, its vehicles, bank and retirement accounts and any business it owns. Debts include the mortgage, credit card balances and every other loan.
How often is net worth by age updated?
The Federal Reserve Board runs the Survey of Consumer Finances every three years. The 2025 survey was published in October 2026, so these are the latest figures until the next survey comes out. The Board’s historical table starts in 1989.
Sources and method
Net worth is the difference between a family’s assets and its debts, as the Board defines it. The survey counts families, not people, and puts each family in an age group by the age of one person in it, the reference person. The Board adjusts every survey to 2025 dollars, so the 2022 and 2025 columns compare directly and earlier years can differ from figures printed in older reports. The Board’s own report and news release print slightly different figures for the same groups, so a number you find there may not match this page to the dollar. This page uses the Board’s public historical table throughout. That keeps every figure on it on the same footing. Percent changes and the average-to-median multiples are our calculations from that table, and they can differ by a point from percentages the Board prints. These are survey estimates with sampling error, which the Board publishes as standard errors in its report; we haven’t tested the changes against them.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System The Survey of Consumer Finances (2025 survey, published October 2026): Table 4 of its historical tables, net worth by selected characteristics of families, 1989 to 2025, in thousands of 2025 dollars. The Board’s report, “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025,” gives its reasons for the changes in net worth. Survey of Consumer Finances Historical tables, 2025 survey (Excel file) Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.