Average Net Worth by Age: Median and Mean (Fed 2025 Data)

The median American family has a net worth of $215,900 and the average is $1.24 million, according to the Federal Reserve's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, published October 9, 2026. By age, median net worth climbs from $33,000 for families under 35 to $411,900 at 55 to 64 and $504,900 at 75 and older (Federal Reserve).

The survey is the most detailed official picture of U.S. household wealth and runs every three years. The figures below are in 2025 dollars and group families by the age of the survey's "reference person," usually the main earner.

Median and Average Net Worth by Age (2025 SCF)

Source: Federal Reserve, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025, table 2. Changes are adjusted for inflation.

Two shifts stand out. Families under 35 lost almost a quarter of their median wealth in real terms between 2022 and 2025, while families 75 and older gained 37%. The Fed attributes the older group's jump mainly to higher values in retirement accounts.

Why the Average Is So Much Higher Than the Median

The median is the family in the exact middle: half have more, half have less. The average (mean) adds up everyone's wealth and divides by the number of families, so a small number of very wealthy households pull it far upward. Across all families, the mean is almost six times the median.

For comparing yourself with a "typical" household, the median is the better benchmark. The mean tells you more about how concentrated wealth is than about what an ordinary family owns.

Net Worth Percentiles: Where the Typical Family in Each Group Sits

The Fed also groups all families by where they rank in the overall wealth distribution. These are the medians within each group, not age-specific.

The bottom quarter of families had a negative average net worth of about -$4,300 in 2025, meaning their debts exceed their assets. Homeownership is the biggest dividing line: the median homeowner family had $458,900 of net worth, while the median renter family had $10,600.

Median Net Worth by Income

Age is only part of the story. Income matters even more, because higher earners can save more and their savings then earn returns of their own. The Fed groups families by their usual income:

The Fed also found that families headed by someone with a college degree had about 1.9 times the median income of families with some college, but almost 3 times the median net worth. Gaps in wealth are wider than gaps in pay because savings compound over decades.

How to Read These Numbers for Your Own Situation

A few cautions keep the comparison fair:

• The survey measures families, not individuals. A married couple counts as one family, so a single person should expect to sit below these figures at the same age.
• The age bands are wide. A 45-year-old and a 54-year-old share a band, but the older person has had nine more years to save and pay down a mortgage.
• Home equity is a big share for the middle class. Two families with the same net worth can be in very different positions if one has it all in a house and the other has it in liquid savings.
• The data is a snapshot. The survey interviewed 4,367 families during 2025. Stock and home prices have moved since then, so treat the figures as a guide, not a scoreboard.

Example: Carol is 58, single and has $380,000 of net worth, including $220,000 of home equity. She is a little under the $411,900 median for her age band, but that median includes couples. A better question for Carol is whether her $160,000 outside the house, plus Social Security, will cover her spending in retirement.

What Counts in Net Worth

Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. The survey counts:

• Financial assets: checking and savings, CDs, bonds, stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs, cash value life insurance and cryptocurrency.
• Nonfinancial assets: your home and other real estate, vehicles and equity in a private business.
• Minus debts: mortgages and home equity loans, car loans, student loans, credit card balances and other borrowing.

It does not include the value of future Social Security benefits or a traditional defined-benefit pension, because those income streams are hard to turn into a present value. If you have a solid pension, your real financial position is stronger than your net worth alone suggests.

How to Calculate Your Net Worth: A Worked Example

Jordan and Priya are 41 and 39. Here is their balance sheet:

Their net worth is $652,000 - $335,000 = $317,000, about twice the $155,600 median for families aged 35 to 44. Use market value for the home and cars (what they would sell for today), current balances for accounts and loans, and update once or twice a year. The net worth calculator does the adding up for you.

Net Worth Benchmarks by Age

Survey medians tell you what other people have, not what you need. A popular planning benchmark is Fidelity's retirement savings guideline, which targets savings as a multiple of your salary (Fidelity). It counts retirement savings, not home equity, so treat it as a separate test from net worth.

Fidelity's guideline assumes you save 15% of income a year from age 25 and retire at 67. Our guide to 401(k) savings by age breaks these targets down further, and the how much do I need to retire guide shows how to set a number that fits your spending.

How to Grow Your Net Worth Faster

• Pay off high-interest debt first. Clearing a credit card at 22% interest raises net worth as surely as a 22% return. The credit card payoff calculator shows how fast.
• Capture every employer match. A 401(k) match is an instant return on your contribution. See the 401(k) calculator.
• Automate saving. Moving money on payday makes saving the default rather than a decision.
• Build home equity deliberately. Homeowners' median net worth is more than 40 times renters', though much of that gap reflects age and income, not just the house.
• Track it. Recalculating each year shows whether you are moving in the right direction and keeps big decisions honest.

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