The Fed Says the Median American Family Is Worth $215,900. Here’s Where You Rank

The typical American family had a net worth of $215,900 in the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances. That was a real gain of 2% from the 2022 survey. Net worth is everything a family has, such as homes, retirement accounts, cars, cash and businesses, minus everything it owes. The Fed reports all of these figures in inflation-adjusted 2025 dollars, so the 2% gain is an increase in buying power after rising prices are taken out.

The mean is far higher. Mean family net worth was $1,241,500, up 7%. The gap comes from how each number is calculated. The median is the family in the exact middle of the line, with half of all families above it and half below. The mean adds up all the wealth and spreads it equally across every family.

Picture a room full of average families, then a billionaire walks in. The median barely moves, but the mean jumps sharply even though nobody else got richer. The Fed notes that medians are less sensitive to very large values than means. The median is therefore the better yardstick for your own position.

When the mean grows faster than the median, it usually means families at the top made more than everyone else. Even so, the Fed found that wealth inequality was little changed between the two surveys. That stable overall picture hides some losses: the groups that usually hold the least wealth fell further behind.

Where You Rank by Age

Wealth follows the life cycle. It builds during working years as people save for retirement, then levels off or declines as they spend it. These are the median net worth figures by age of the family’s reference person in the 2025 survey:

• Under 35: $33,000
• 35 to 44: $155,600
• 45 to 54: $253,700
• 55 to 64: $411,900
• 65 to 74: $431,300
• 75 and older: $504,900

The youngest and oldest families moved in opposite directions. Median net worth for families under 35 fell 23%, while it rose 37% for families 75 and older. The Fed says the older group’s gain came mainly from rising retirement account values. If you are under 35, compare yourself with your own age group. Matching that group’s median puts you in the middle of your peers, even if the national figure feels far away.

Homeownership Splits the Country in Two

Housing status creates one of the sharpest gaps in the report. Homeowners had a median net worth of $458,900. Renters had $10,600, and their median slipped 7% between surveys.

Home equity is the main reason. Among owners, the median net housing value (the home’s value minus mortgage and home equity debt) rose to $230,000. Owners build wealth with every mortgage payment and every rise in home prices. Renters have to build it entirely through savings and investments. Meanwhile the median home was worth more than 4.5 times the median family income, which kept affordability near its historical low and made buying a home harder.

Income and Education Widen the Spread

Families in the bottom 20% of usual income had a median net worth of $14,400. Families in the middle of the income range, from the 40th to the 60th percentile, held $188,200.

For the top 10% of earners, the median rose 31% to $3,669,900. Higher earners can save more, and the assets they build produce still more income.

Education shows the same pattern. For families whose reference person had no high school diploma, median net worth fell 55% to $18,600. Families with a college degree had a median of $505,400.

Wealth Percentiles Show Your Exact Spot

To compare yourself with all families, use the report’s net worth percentile groups. Families in the bottom quarter had a median of $1,700, while those between the 50th and 75th percentiles had $405,700.

The top 10% held a median $4,935,200, showing wealth’s concentration at the top.

Who Lost Ground in the Fed’s Data

The Fed found that groups that typically hold less wealth, including young families, renters and families without a high school diploma, saw declines. Older families and those at the top of the income and wealth ladders saw some of the largest gains. Black families’ median net worth fell 25%. That left the median for White families at nine times theirs, the largest ratio since 2016.

To rank yourself, start with one number: your total assets minus your total debts. Compare it first with your age group and then with your housing status, because those two factors explain far more than the national median does. If you are below your peers, the data points to what raised other families: has assets that grow in value, such as a home or a retirement account, and holding them for a long time. Older families made the most largely because their retirement balances grew. The 2025 survey records where families stood. Its data shows the largest gains went to families that already has appreciating assets.

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