Average Net Worth by Age in the US: Median vs Mean
Quick answer
The median American family had a net worth of $192,900 in the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the latest published. By age, medians run from $39,000 under 35 to a peak of $409,900 at 65 to 74. The mean is $1,063,700, but a small number of very rich households drag it up.
US family net worth by age, 2022 (median vs mean)
| Age of head of household | Median net worth | Mean net worth | Mean vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $39,000 | $183,500 | 4.7x |
| 35-44 | $135,600 | $549,600 | 4.1x |
| 45-54 | $247,200 | $975,800 | 3.9x |
| 55-64 | $364,500 | $1,566,900 | 4.3x |
| 65-74 | $409,900 | $1,794,600 | 4.4x |
| 75 or older | $335,600 | $1,624,100 | 4.8x |
| All families | $192,900 | $1,063,700 | 5.5x |
The average net worth by age question has two very different answers, and most coverage quotes whichever one flatters the story. The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, the source behind nearly every net worth statistic you will read, publishes both: the median (the middle family) and the mean (the arithmetic average). The table above gives both for every age bracket, in 2022 dollars, straight from the Fed's bulletin.
The gap between them is the point. The mean for all families is $1,063,700; the median is $192,900. Nobody moved house, the same families were counted, but one number is 5.5 times the other because wealth in America is concentrated at the top and the mean counts every billionaire. The median is the more honest benchmark for a typical family, which is why the table leads with it. If a headline tells you the average American is a millionaire, it is quoting the mean.
The shape of the curve is the other thing worth reading. Median net worth climbs steadily through working life, peaks at $409,900 between 65 and 74, then falls back to $335,600 past 75 as retirees spend down what they built. The Fed runs the survey every three years, so these 2022 figures are the latest published set, and every bracket rose sharply on 2019 thanks to house prices and pandemic-era savings.
To see where your own number lands, start by calculating your net worth properly, then keep it updated with our free net worth tracker. For the finer-grained version of this question, our US net worth percentile tool shows exactly where you rank within your age bracket rather than just whether you clear the median. The same survey also drives our look at average retirement savings for married couples, which isolates retirement accounts from the housing wealth that dominates this table. More US coverage lives on the US articles hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good net worth at 30, 40 or 50?
Using the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances medians as the benchmark: at 30 you are in the under-35 bracket, where the median is $39,000. At 40 the 35-44 median is $135,600, and at 50 the 45-54 median is $247,200. Beat the median for your bracket and you are ahead of more than half of American families your age.
What is the average American net worth?
It depends which average. The mean net worth of all US families was $1,063,700 in the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, while the median was $192,900. The median is the better guide to a typical family, because the mean is pulled up by the wealthiest households.
Why is median net worth so different from mean net worth?
Because wealth is heavily concentrated at the top. The mean adds every fortune in the country and divides by the number of families, so a few billionaires lift everyone else on paper. The median is the middle family when all families are ranked, which no fortune can distort. In 2022 the mean was 5.5 times the median.
Are you rich if your net worth is $1 million?
By the numbers, yes. A $1 million net worth is more than five times the 2022 all-family median of $192,900 and sits inside the 75th to 90th percentile band, whose median was $1,036,200. That puts a million-dollar family roughly in the top fifth of US households, even if it rarely feels that way in a high-cost city.
What is a good net worth for a 70 year old?
The 65-74 bracket is the wealthiest in the survey: a median of $409,900 and a mean of $1,794,600 in 2022. A 70 year old above $409,900 has more wealth than half of their peers. Above roughly $1.8 million they are ahead of the bracket average even after the very rich are counted.
Does net worth include your home?
Yes. The Survey of Consumer Finances defines net worth as total assets minus total liabilities, so it counts home equity, retirement accounts, vehicles, businesses and bank balances, less mortgages and other debts. For many families home equity is the single largest slice, which is worth remembering when comparing yourself against the table.
Sources
General information, not financial advice. Tax rules and figures can change; check the current position on irs.gov or ssa.gov before acting.