Median net worth by age now peaks after 75 in the United States. Households headed by someone 75 or older held a median of $504,000 in 2025, the highest of any age band, while those headed by someone under 35 held $33,000, down 23% in three years. The Federal Reserve published the figures on 9 October 2026.
The numbers come from the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, which covers United States families only and reports every figure in inflation-adjusted 2025 dollars. It is conducted for the Federal Reserve Board by NORC at the University of Chicago and has run every three years since 1989, so the comparison throughout is 2022 against 2025.
Median Net Worth by Age and Group
Net worth here means everything a family owns minus everything it owes. A median is the midpoint of a group, not what a typical individual household holds, and half of each group sits below the figure shown.
| Group | Median net worth, 2025 | Change from 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Headed by someone 75 or older | $504,000 | Largest increase of any age group |
| All United States families | $215,900 | Up 2% |
| Headed by someone under 35 | $33,000 | Down 23% |
| Richest 10% of families | $3.6 million | Up 31% |
Households headed by someone aged 65 to 74 saw their median net worth rise 37%, the survey’s second-largest gain by age. The 75-and-older group is the smallest of the age bands, at about 13.4% of families; CBS News, reading the same data, put that at roughly 18 million households. Their median annual income was $67,000 in 2025, up 24% from 2022.
One note on precision. The Federal Reserve’s summary report draws on the full internal dataset, while the public data file is adjusted for disclosure. Medians calculated from the public file differ slightly, which is why the 75-and-older figure appears as $504,900 in some calculations rather than $504,000.
What Rose for Families Overall
On the headline measures, both income and wealth increased. The Federal Reserve Board’s release reported that real median net worth rose 2% to $215,900 and real mean net worth rose 7% to $1.24 million between the 2022 and 2025 surveys.
Income moved in two directions at once. Real median family income rose 7% to $82,200, while real mean family income fell 6% to $145,200. A falling mean alongside a rising median points to losses at the top of the distribution, and the Board said families at the lower end of the income and net worth distributions saw modest gains while those at the upper end saw declines in income.
Two other measures were close to flat. The homeownership rate stood at 66%, about unchanged, though median net housing value for homeowners rose to $230,000 from $218,900. Retirement plan participation edged up to about 65%.
Nearly One in Five Families Is Behind on a Loan
The same survey recorded the worst debt-payment performance in fifteen years. The Federal Reserve’s report stated that “families were more likely to be behind on their financial obligations than at any point since the 2010 survey”.
- Behind on loan payments: The share rose to nearly 20% of families in 2025, from about 12% in 2022.
- At least two months behind: More than 8% of families, up from 5% in 2022.
- Debt payments above 40% of income: 8.6% of families, up from 6.5%, which the Board described as a level last seen in the 2013 survey.
- Families carrying any debt: 77%, roughly unchanged, with median and mean debt outstanding also unchanged from 2022.
The combination is the survey’s central tension: the amount families owe barely moved, but their ability to keep up with the payments deteriorated sharply. Debt in this measure covers home loans, credit cards, instalment credit and other borrowing.
Where the Gains Concentrated
The wealth increase was uneven, and the stock market is the clearest illustration. Stock market participation fell from 58% of families in 2022 to 56% in 2025 — fewer families owned shares, directly or through funds and retirement accounts.
Among the families that did hold stock, median holdings rose 36%, from $56,900 to $77,400. The S&P 500 index gained roughly 78% between the end of 2022 and 2025, so the families already invested captured that rise while the share of families participating slipped.
That pattern shows up at the top of the distribution too: the richest 10% of families recorded a median net worth of $3.6 million in 2025, a 31% increase.
Why Under-35 Net Worth Fell
The under-35 decline of 23% was the only fall among the age bands, and the survey attributes most of it to business equity. Gains in the value of privately held businesses, which lifted younger households in the 2022 survey, did not repeat.
Households headed by someone under 35 are the largest age band in the survey, at about one in five families. For context on the wider picture for older Americans, the Census Bureau has recorded nearly 10% of people aged 65 and over living below the poverty line in 2025, up from roughly 9% a decade earlier — a reminder that a high group median does not describe every household inside it.
What the Survey Does Not Capture
Four limits matter when reading these figures.
- Country: The survey covers United States families only. It is not a guide to net worth in any other market.
- Timing: The data describe 2025. They do not capture 2026 price increases driven by higher energy costs, nor any change in asset values since. The Federal Reserve’s own staff do not expect inflation to return to 2% until 2029.
- Frequency: The survey runs once every three years, so the next comparable reading is not due until 2028 data are published.
- Sample: The 2025 wave interviewed 4,367 families, and missing values were imputed five times to produce the published dataset. Figures carry sampling error that point estimates do not show.
Housing is the other moving part. The survey’s $230,000 median net housing value is a 2025 reading, and borrowing costs have changed since: United States mortgage rates stood well above their year-earlier level in October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Median Net Worth by Age in the United States?
In the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, households headed by someone 75 or older had the highest median net worth at $504,000, and those headed by someone under 35 the lowest at $33,000. The median across all United States families was $215,900.
When Was the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances Released?
The Federal Reserve Board published the results on 9 October 2026, in a report titled “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025”.
Did American Families Get Wealthier?
On the median measure, slightly. Real median net worth rose 2% to $215,900 between the 2022 and 2025 surveys, and real median family income rose 7% to $82,200. Real mean family income fell 6%, indicating losses at the upper end of the distribution.
How Many Families Are Behind on Debt Payments?
Nearly 20% of United States families were behind on a loan payment in 2025, up from about 12% in 2022, and more than 8% were at least two months behind. The Federal Reserve reported this as the highest level since its 2010 survey.
Why Did Net Worth Fall for People Under 35?
Median net worth for households headed by someone under 35 fell 23% to $33,000, which the survey attributes mainly to a drop in gains from business equity — the value of privately held businesses — rather than to wages or housing.
