Average household networth by age depends on whether you use the mean or the median, and the gap is huge. The Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the standard U.S. source, reported a median household net worth of about $192,900 and a mean near $1.06 million. The median is the better guide to a typical family, while the mean is pulled up by very wealthy households.
The table in words: medians by age of head of household
Figures below are rounded from the Federal Reserve’s 2022 survey, in 2022 dollars:
- Under 35: median about $39,000; mean about $183,000
- 35 to 44: median about $135,000; mean about $550,000
- 45 to 54: median about $247,000; mean about $976,000
- 55 to 64: median about $365,000; mean about $1.57 million
- 65 to 74: median about $410,000; mean about $1.79 million
- 75 and over: median about $336,000; mean about $1.62 million
The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances page publishes the full tables, and the survey is updated every three years, so newer data will replace these numbers.
Why the mean is so much higher
Wealth in America is concentrated. A small number of households hold very large amounts, and that pulls the average far above what most families have. If you lined up all households from poorest to richest, the median is the one in the middle. For most people, comparing to the median is more realistic than comparing to the mean. We explain the benchmark in more depth in our piece on what a good net worth looks like.
What these figures include and exclude
Net worth in the survey is assets minus debts. Assets include home equity, retirement accounts, bank deposits, stocks, businesses and vehicles. Debts include mortgages, student loans, car loans and credit cards. Defined benefit pensions and Social Security are not counted as assets, which can understate the financial security of older households. Home values were a major driver of increases between surveys, which is worth knowing because home equity is not liquid.
How to use average household networth by age
- Calculate your own. Add up assets, subtract debts. Our simple walk-through for calculating net worth takes about ten minutes.
- Compare to the median, not the mean. The median reflects a typical household.
- Adjust for context. Student debt, location, family size and whether you own a home all change the picture.
- Look at the trend. The direction of your own net worth over several years says more than one-time comparisons.
Why people in their twenties look “behind”
Young households often have student loans, little savings and few assets, and many are early in careers. A negative or low net worth at 25 is common and is not a sign of failure. The steepest growth tends to happen between the mid-thirties and mid-sixties, as incomes rise, mortgages are paid down and retirement balances grow.
Why wealth drops after 75
The median declines for the oldest group in the survey because retirees spend down savings, and because wealthier households in earlier generations may differ from later ones. This pattern combines aging and generational differences, so it should not be read as what will happen to any individual.
Limits of the data
The survey samples households and over-samples wealthy ones to capture the top, but all survey data carries margins of error. Figures are in 2022 dollars, so inflation since then has changed buying power. And the category “age” refers to the head of the household, which can be arbitrary in couples.
What to do with this
Use average household networth by age as a rough benchmark, not a score. If you are behind a typical figure, the most useful steps are boring ones: build an emergency fund, take any employer retirement match and pay down high-interest debt. A financial planner can help tailor this to your circumstances.
One more point: these numbers describe households, not individuals, so a couple’s combined assets are counted once. Single-person households therefore tend to look lower than two-earner households at the same age. If you are single, it can be fairer to compare yourself against single-household data, which the Federal Reserve survey also breaks out in some tables. And regional differences matter a lot, since home prices vary enormously across the country.
This article is general information, not financial advice.
Photo: Hans Bernhard Schwerin, Public domain, source.
