Median U.S. family net worth ranges from $39,000 for families under 35 to $409,900 for ages 65–74 in the Federal Reserve’s published 2022 survey. The average is much higher because large fortunes pull it upward. The table below gives both measures. These are 2022 balances in 2022 dollars, checked in September 2026, rather than newly measured 2026 wealth. (Federal Reserve, Table 2)
Average and median net worth by age
Use the median column to find the middle of each age group and the mean column to see the arithmetic average. Neither column tells you how much your own family needs. To place your own figure beside these benchmarks, use the net worth calculator.
| Age of reference person | Median net worth | Average (mean) net worth |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $39,000 | $183,500 |
| 35–44 | $135,600 | $549,600 |
| 45–54 | $247,200 | $975,800 |
| 55–64 | $364,500 | $1,566,900 |
| 65–74 | $409,900 | $1,794,600 |
| 75 and older | $335,600 | $1,624,100 |
| All families | $192,900 | $1,063,700 |
Source: Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, Table 2. The source reports thousands of 2022 dollars; this table converts them to dollars. It uses one published table consistently, rather than combining figures from different extracts or rounding conventions.
Median family net worth by age — 2022 survey
Before comparing, calculate your net worth with a consistent list of assets and debts. Comparing an investment account alone with a measure that also includes housing and other assets will give a misleading result.
The age labels describe the survey’s reference person, not every member of the family. A couple with partners in different bands should not add the two medians together. Nor should a single person divide a family median in half and treat the result as an official individual benchmark.
How current are these figures?
The 2022 survey remains the latest published SCF results found in our September 13, 2026 check of the Federal Reserve’s survey index. The Fed announced collection of the 2025 survey in February 2025 and said summary results were expected in late 2026. That announcement is a release schedule, not a new set of wealth estimates. (Federal Reserve, 2025 survey announcement)
Keep three dates separate when using an article like this:
- Measurement year: when the survey measured the balances.
- Publication year: when the survey’s results became available.
- Article check date: when someone verified the source and updated this page.
A current article check does not make an old balance current. The table therefore keeps the survey year in its chart title and notes, even when someone arrives from a search for “average net worth by age 2026.”
We have not multiplied these figures by recent stock-market gains or home-price changes. Doing so would assume families owned particular assets in particular proportions and held their debts constant. An inflation adjustment alone would also answer a different question: the purchasing power of an old estimate, rather than newly observed wealth.
For your own balance sheet, use current values as of one date. For the national comparison, retain the survey’s date. You can learn from the comparison while acknowledging that the two snapshots occurred at different times.
Why are the median and average so far apart?
The mean responds to every dollar in the group, while the median identifies its middle. The Census Bureau’s wealth definitions explain this distinction. A very wealthy family can change the mean substantially without changing which family sits in the middle.
Illustrative example: imagine five families whose net worth is $20,000, $40,000, $60,000, $80,000, and $800,000. Their combined wealth is $1 million. Divide by five and the mean is $200,000. The middle observation is $60,000, so that is the median.
| Illustrative group | Total wealth | Mean | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five balances: $20k, $40k, $60k, $80k, $800k | $1,000,000 | $200,000 | $60,000 |
| Same first four; fifth rises to $1.8m | $2,000,000 | $400,000 | $60,000 |
In the second row, one family’s gain doubles the mean. The other four families have exactly the same balances as before, and the median stays put. This is original arithmetic, not an estimate of how U.S. wealth is distributed.
The mean is still a valid statistic. It can be useful when studying total wealth spread across a population. It is less helpful as a target for a person asking whether their situation is typical. The median is a better starting point for that narrower question, but it still does not capture all the differences between families.
Neither number supplies a percentile calculator. Knowing the mean and median does not reveal the cutoff for the top quarter or the top tenth. We do not infer those cutoffs from the table, or manufacture an exact age-30 or age-40 estimate by interpolating between bands.
What belongs in the comparison?
A meaningful comparison needs the same basic definition on both sides: assets minus liabilities. The Census Bureau uses that definition for wealth. Your practical balance sheet should make the scope clear before you draw conclusions.
For example, a home worth $300,000 with a $220,000 mortgage contributes $80,000 before selling costs and taxes. Recording both the $300,000 home value and the $80,000 equity would count the same ownership twice. Either list the whole asset and its debt separately or list only the net equity, with a clear note about the method.
Before comparing, check:
- Whether the balance sheet covers one person or the whole household.
- Whether retirement accounts and other non-cash assets are included.
- Whether current loan and credit-card balances are subtracted.
- Whether property values are reasonable estimates from a consistent date.
These checks will not turn a personal spreadsheet into an exact reproduction of the SCF’s statistical methods. They do prevent common mismatches, such as comparing cash alone with total wealth or including a partner’s assets while leaving out their debts. For the cash-accessible measure, see the liquid net worth guide.
Account access matters separately. Home equity is part of wealth, but it cannot pay next week’s groceries without a sale or borrowing arrangement. Retirement-account balances may have tax or withdrawal consequences. A headline total does not tell you how much cash is available for an unexpected expense.
For that reason, keep a cash-reserve figure beside total net worth. A person can have substantial net worth and still need to improve their short-term cash position. The guide to a good net worth works through two equal totals with different amounts of accessible money.
What the age pattern cannot tell you
This table compares different age groups at one survey date. It does not follow a single family from its twenties through retirement. Treating the bars as a forecast of your own future would give the chart more meaning than the data supports.
There are several possible reasons families at different ages have different wealth. They can differ in earnings history, household size, homeownership, inherited assets, and debts. People born in different decades also encounter different economic conditions. The table alone does not isolate the effect of any one factor.
In particular, the lower median in the oldest band does not prove that the same families spent a specified amount after turning 75. Planned retirement spending is one possible contributor, but a cross-sectional comparison cannot establish that causal story on its own.
This matters when you read the chart as a personal schedule. A younger family does not need to reproduce the percentage jump between adjacent bars. A retiree need not regard a planned withdrawal as a failure merely because it reduces a balance.
Consider a separate illustrative decision. Pat has $120,000 in assets and $20,000 in debts, giving net worth of $100,000. Paying $5,000 of principal using existing cash leaves assets of $115,000 and debt of $15,000. Net worth remains $100,000 before fees. Future interest may be lower, even though the immediate benchmark position has not changed.
A useful financial decision therefore need not move someone closer to an age-group median today. The change in risk, available cash, and future obligations can matter more than the chart position.
Use the benchmark to frame a better question
After looking up your age band, choose one question that your own records can answer. “How much of this year’s change came from saving?” is more actionable than “Am I far enough ahead of strangers?”
A short review can work like this:
- Record assets and debts on the same date.
- Separate money available for bills from long-term assets.
- Explain large changes since the previous snapshot.
- Choose one next action that fits the household’s actual obligations.
That action might be correcting a missing account, building cash for an annual bill, or reviewing an expensive debt. It need not be a purchase or a trade. Sometimes the most useful result is discovering that an apparent gain came from changing a property estimate rather than saving more.
Keep the measurement method stable when tracking net worth over time. A series of snapshots can help you understand your own progress, provided you separate market movements and changes in scope from what you earned and spent.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good net worth at age 30?
The published table has an under-35 band, not an exact age-30 target. A useful personal goal depends on debts, cash needs, and planned spending. The group median is descriptive and should not be treated as the amount every 30-year-old needs.
Is this 2026 net-worth data?
No. It is the 2022 SCF data, checked in September 2026. The publication and review dates do not change the survey year. New survey results should replace the table when published, rather than being guessed from market movements.
Does net worth include a house?
A balance sheet can include the home’s estimated value and subtract its mortgage. Do not also add home equity as a second asset. Total net worth and readily available cash answer different questions.
Is average net worth per person or per family?
This table reports families using the SCF’s definitions and the age of its reference person. It is not a table of individual account balances. Dividing a family median by household size does not produce an official per-person median.
Should I compare myself with the mean or median?
Use the median to understand the middle of the group. Use the mean when you specifically want the arithmetic average. Neither statistic establishes how much you need for retirement or how secure your current cash flow is.
