The Federal Reserve's 2025 survey puts average US household net worth at $1.23 million, but the median is only $216,100, a gap stretched by the very rich.
Want to know how your finances compare with your peers? The Federal Reserve just released its 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, and someone has crunched the numbers by age.
The average is for the rich
Average net worth across all US households is $1,231,997. That figure is pulled up by the ultra-wealthy: picture nine people in a bar with $100,000 each, then Warren Buffett walks in and the average jumps past $10 billion.
The median is just $216,100, less than a fifth of the average. It represents the household actually standing in the middle.
Wealth climbs with age, peaks near 60
Net worth rises steadily with age, tops out in the early 60s near retirement, then flattens. Households 80 and older show the highest median, partly because wealthier people live longer.
For the less wealthy, the house is everything
Strip home equity out of the picture and the median falls from $216,100 to $69,200. For typical households over 35, home equity makes up 55% to 70% of net worth; for the top 20% of the same age, it is only 15% to 25%.
The less wealthy you are, the more your net worth is tied up in your home. That is why people keep asking for the data with housing removed.
But home equity is real wealth: you can borrow against it, liquidate it, pass it on. You just cannot spend it directly.
Why it matters
Measuring yourself against the average is a recipe for feeling behind, because a handful of billionaires drag the number out of reach. The median and the home-equity share tell you which rung you are actually on, and why everyone around you seems richer.
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