What is the median net worth by age?

Median net worth by age is the middle household in each Federal Reserve age-of-head group: half have less, half have more. In Rankk’s SCF 2022 analysis, medians range from about $39,000 under 35 to about $411,000 for ages 65–74.

Is average or median net worth more useful?

Median is usually more useful for personal comparison. Average net worth by age can be pulled higher by a small number of very wealthy households, while the median better represents the middle household.

What counts toward net worth?

Net worth is what you own minus what you owe. Assets can include cash, investments, and home equity; liabilities include mortgages, student loans, credit cards, and other debts.

Can net worth be negative?

Yes. If debts are larger than assets, net worth is negative. That is common earlier in adulthood when student loans and other borrowing can outweigh savings.

Why is net worth lower for younger households?

Younger households usually have fewer years of earnings and saving, more education debt, and less home equity. That is why under-35 medians and lower percentiles sit well below midlife and near-retirement benchmarks.

How often does the Federal Reserve publish net worth data?

The Survey of Consumer Finances is released about every three years. This guide uses the 2022 SCF wave; the 2026 in the title refers to the guide year, not the survey year.

Net Worth by Age in the U.S. (2026 Guide)

Median U.S. household net worth ranges from about $39,000 under age 35 to $411,000 for ages 65–74, based on Federal Reserve data.

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Rankk Research

Last updated Aug 27, 2026Source-verified

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Net worth benchmarks by age

Find your age group in the table below. The shows the net worth of the household in the middle of that age group.

The and show the wider range. For example, if you are at the 75th percentile, your net worth is higher than roughly 75% of households in your age group.

Household net worth by Federal Reserve age-of-head band from Rankk calculations using SCF 2022 microdata. Columns are 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile.
Age group	25th percentile	Median	75th percentile
Under 35	$3,890	$39,072	$152,700
35–44	$19,310	$134,820	$416,806
45–54	$50,954	$245,885	$786,238
55–64	$81,430	$362,442	$1,128,906
65–74	$87,258	$411,358	$1,173,472
75+	$92,424	$333,160	$977,172

Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2022)1 2. Percentile analysis: Rankk. Display amounts are rounded for readability.

How to read the net worth benchmarks

Take the 35–44 age group as an example. The 25th-percentile benchmark is about $19,310, the median is about $134,820, and the 75th percentile is about $416,806.

Below the median means your household sits in the lower half of that age group in the survey. That is common early in wealth-building and does not by itself say much about income, lifestyle, or long-term progress.
Above the median means your net worth is higher than at least half of households in that age group. Housing equity and retirement accounts often drive that difference.
Above the 75th percentile means you are in the top quarter for that age band. Age alone does not create that outcome; income, saving rate, debt, and local housing markets matter too.

These benchmarks answer a comparison question, not a success formula. Two households the same age can have very different net worth for good reasons.

What is a good net worth for your age?

A simple benchmark for a good net worth is anything above the median for your age group. That means your household has a higher net worth than at least half of U.S. households in the same age band. Reaching the 75th percentile puts you above roughly three-quarters of households your age.

That does not mean everyone below the median is doing poorly. Income, housing costs, debt, geography, household size, and other circumstances can create large differences. But if the question is simply “How does my net worth compare with people my age?”, the median gives us a clear dividing line.

Age is only one part of the comparison. If you want to go beyond these age-band benchmarks, see how Rankk compares your net worth.

Net worth by age group

Here’s what tends to push net worth up or down in each age group, and why two households the same age can end up so far apart.

Net worth under 35

The median household net worth under 35 is about $39,000, but this age group has one of the widest differences in financial starting points. Student loans, first jobs, and whether someone has begun investing or bought a home can push two households the same age far apart.

For someone under 35, the direction of travel often matters more than the raw number: growing savings, reducing high-interest debt, and consistently investing can matter more than matching a national benchmark today.

Net worth ages 35–44

Median household net worth for ages 35–44 is about $135,000. Home equity, rising career income, and retirement contributions often start to compound here, while childcare costs, housing payments, and leftover education debt can slow progress.

What to watch is whether assets are growing faster than debts. Two households in this band can look similar in income and still land on opposite sides of the median if one owns a home and the other is still catching up on loans.

Net worth ages 45–54

For ages 45–54, median household net worth is about $246,000. Higher earnings and longer saving histories often lift balances, but mortgage balances, college costs, and uneven retirement access create a large spread within the same age range.

Differences in saving, investing, housing, debt, and major family expenses can become more visible in this age range. The useful question is whether retirement balances are growing while debt is moving down.

Net worth ages 55–64

Median household net worth for ages 55–64 is about $362,000. Many households are finishing mortgages, topping up retirement accounts, and trying to separate what they own on paper from what they can actually spend.

Home equity can dominate the total. That means two people near the same net worth may have very different cash flexibility depending on how much of the balance is tied up in a house versus liquid investments and remaining debt.

Net worth ages 65–74

Ages 65–74 show the highest median in this set, about $411,000. Retirement transitions, Social Security or pension income, portfolio withdrawals, and how much wealth sits in home equity all shape where a household lands.

A lower number than a neighbor’s does not automatically signal trouble. Some households draw down intentionally while others keep working or delay withdrawals. Spendable assets and ongoing income matter as much as the headline net worth figure.

Net worth age 75+

Median household net worth for age 75+ is about $333,000, below the 65–74 median. Drawdowns for living costs, healthcare, housing changes, or transfers to family can reduce balances even when a household is financially stable.

Comparing only against younger retirement ages can mislead. Lower net worth later in life often reflects planned spending or estate decisions rather than a sudden loss of financial control.

What matters more than age when comparing net worth?

Age alone is a rough benchmark. Income, cost of living and geography, household size, homeownership, debt, retirement plan access, and family support or inheritance can matter as much as the year you were born.

That is why comparing yourself only with everyone in your age bracket can be misleading. A more useful comparison looks at people with similar financial circumstances, not age alone, which is what Rankk’s ranking comparison is built around.

Average vs. median net worth: Which should you compare yourself to?

“Average net worth by age” is one of the most common searches in this topic. The average (mean) adds every household together and divides by the count, so a small number of very wealthy households can pull it higher.

The median better represents the middle household. That is why this page emphasizes median net worth by age, plus 25th and 75th percentile benchmarks for context, instead of leading with an average.

How is net worth calculated?

Net worth = assets − liabilities. Assets are what a household owns, such as cash, investments, and home equity. Liabilities are what it owes, such as mortgages, student loans, and credit cards. For more detail on Rankk’s product definition, see how net worth is calculated.

Why does net worth usually rise with age?

More years of earning and saving usually mean larger retirement accounts, more home equity, and less remaining education or consumer debt. Those patterns lift median net worth through midlife and early retirement. Later, some households draw down savings, which can ease balances after peak ages. Debt payoff helps too: every dollar of principal paid raises net worth the same way a dollar of new savings does. If debt is a focus for you, Rankk’s debt snowball calculator can help map a payoff plan and show you when you will be debt free.

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How to use these net worth benchmarks

These numbers are best used as reference points, not financial targets. They show where U.S. households in each age group fell in the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. The figures describe households, not individuals, and they are national. They do not adjust for income, city, household size, or cost of living.

Where the numbers come from

Rankk calculates the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile inside the Federal Reserve’s official age-of-head groups using the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Survey weights are applied, and estimates are averaged across the survey’s five implicates. Band medians are cross-checked against published Fed figures3.

What these numbers cannot tell you

They do not say what someone “should” have. They do not account for local cost of living, and they do not separate liquid wealth from home equity in the comparison. A household above or below a benchmark can get there for many reasons the table cannot explain. This public guide uses broad Federal Reserve age groups. Rankk can use more detailed information inside the product to make comparisons more specific to your financial situation.

FAQ

A practical benchmark is to be above the median for your age group. That means your net worth is higher than at least half of U.S. households in the same age band. The 75th percentile is a stronger benchmark, putting you above roughly three-quarters. Being below the median does not automatically mean you are doing poorly, since income, housing, debt, location, and household size can all affect net worth.

Notes

1Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), 2022. ↩
2Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances. ↩
3Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022: Accessible Version / Tables and Figures. ↩