Net worth at 65–74

The typical family

The median net worth of families headed by someone aged 65 to 74 was $409,900 in 2022 — 2.1 times the $192,900 median for all US families. Half of these families had more and half had less.

The average (mean) is far higher, $1.79M — 4.4 times the median. A relatively small number of very wealthy families pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to a typical family.

How it changed since 2019

In 2019 the inflation-adjusted median stood at $308,800; the +33% move to 2022 was a real gain, and the mean moved +27%.

In 2019 the mean stood at 4.6× the median; by 2022 that ratio was 4.4×, so wealth in this bracket became a little less concentrated.

What it takes to reach the top

Our modeled thresholds for this age group: about $1.40M for the top 25%, $4.10M for the top 10%, and $29.16M for the top 1%. The Fed publishes only the median and mean by age, so these lines are estimated by re-centering the nationwide SCF distribution on this bracket's median — the same method our calculator uses. Treat them as approximate, especially the top 1%.

Measured against all US families, not just this age group, the 65–74 median lands near the top 33%. By the same yardstick, the bracket's top-10% line ($4.10M) sits near the top 5% of all US families. That's why the same dollar figure can feel very different depending on your age.

Compared with other ages

Against the 55–64 group's $364,500, this is a +12% change. The 75 and older median, $335,600, is −18% compared with this bracket. These are different families at a single point in time, not the same families followed over the years, so the steps between brackets also reflect generational differences in home buying, education and market timing.

What shapes net worth at this stage

Between 65 and 74, most families are drawing down savings rather than adding to them, yet this bracket has the highest median net worth of any age group in the 2022 survey. Paid-off homes and accumulated retirement accounts explain much of that; Social Security and pensions, which aren't counted as assets here, cover a large share of spending for many.

About the data

Net worth here is everything a family owns — homes at market value, retirement and bank accounts, stocks, businesses, vehicles — minus everything it owes. Age is that of the family's "reference person", usually the main earner. Figures are the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances in 2022 dollars; the 65–74 medians are as published ($409,900 in 2022, $308,800 in 2019).