Net worth by age
Wealth builds slowly and unevenly over a lifetime. These pages break down the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances by the age of the family's main earner.
The shape of the curve
Median family net worth climbs from $39,000 for families headed by someone under 35 to a peak of $409,900 in the 65–74 bracket — a 951% difference — before easing to $335,600 for those 75 and older. The averages are several times larger at every age, because wealth is concentrated: a minority of families hold most of it, which lifts the mean far above what a typical family has.
Every bracket gained ground between the 2019 and 2022 surveys after inflation, helped by higher home values and stock prices. The biggest jump was in the Under 35 bracket, where the median rose 142% in real terms. Each page below covers one bracket in depth: the median and mean, estimated lines for the top 25%, 10% and 1%, how the numbers moved since 2019, and what typically drives wealth at that stage of life.
Net worth here means everything a family owns minus everything it owes — including home equity and retirement accounts, but not future Social Security or pension payments. If you'd like to see where your own figure lands, each page links to the calculator with the matching age band already selected; your numbers never leave your browser.
| Age | Median | Mean | Top 10% from (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $39,000 | $183,500 | $389,983 |
| 35–44 | $135,600 | $549,600 | $1.36M |
| 45–54 | $247,200 | $975,800 | $2.47M |
| 55–64 | $364,500 | $1.57M | $3.64M |
| 65–74 | $409,900 | $1.79M | $4.10M |
| 75 and older | $335,600 | $1.62M | $3.36M |
Source: Federal Reserve, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022 (Survey of Consumer Finances), Table 2 — family net worth by age of reference person, 2022 dollars
Source: Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances — nationwide net worth percentiles
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.