The average net worth of an American is roughly $192,700, but looking at the average net worth by age, educational attainment, and race reveals a more complicated picture.
That's according to data collected in 2022 and published in 2023 by the Federal Reserve. This is the most recent data available.
Unsurprisingly, older Americans tend to have higher net worths -- also known simply as "wealth" -- than younger Americans. Those with a college degree also have significantly higher net worths than those without one.
Net worth is also heavily stratified by race. The average net worth of white Americans is roughly six times higher than the median net worth of Black Americans and nearly five times higher than that of Hispanic Americans.
Net worth is the value of assets you control minus your liabilities. The former includes anything that can be turned into cash, such as your house, other real estate, car, investments, and bank accounts. The latter includes outstanding obligations, such as loans, mortgages, and credit card debt.
Understanding your wealth and how it compares to the average net worth can provide a clearer picture of your financial well-being and identify areas that may benefit from improvement. It can also be a big help when you're figuring out how much money you need to retire.
Key findings
- The median net worth of Americans in 2022 was $192,700.
- In 2022, the median net worth of Americans younger than 35 was $39,040. The median net worth of Americans between 65 and 74 was about 11 times higher at $410,000.
- In 2022, the median net worth of Americans with a college degree was $464,400. The median net worth of Americans with a high school diploma was $107,000.
- In 2022, the median net worth of white Americans was $284,310. The median net worth of Black Americans was $44,100, and the median net worth of Hispanic Americans was $62,120. Asian families -- which the Federal Reserve reported on for the first time -- had the highest median net worth at $535,400.
Average net worth: $192,700
The median net worth of Americans in 2022 was $192,700, according to the Federal Reserve.
That's a $51,555 increase from 2019, roughly a 37% jump, and the largest recorded since the Fed began collecting this data in 1989. (Data is in 2022 dollars.)
Year | Median Net Worth |
|---|---|
2022 | $192,700 |
2019 | $141,145 |
2016 | $119,995 |
2013 | $103,609 |
2010 | $105,166 |
2007 | $173,151 |
2004 | $146,286 |
2001 | $145,208 |
1998 | $130,733 |
1995 | $111,868 |
1992 | $102,977 |
1989 | $108,501 |
Want to increase your net worth?
Average net worth by age
In 2022, the median net worth of Americans younger than 35 was $39,040, while the median net worth of Americans aged 65 to 74 was $410,000.
Americans at retirement age had a median wealth 10.5 times that of those in the younger-than-35 age group.
The average American net worth picks up after age 35. Americans between 35 and 44 years old had a median net worth of $135,300, three-and-a-half times more than those younger than 35.
The gap in net worth between Americans in their late 40s and early 50s and those in their late 50s and early 60s is similar in size.
Americans aged 45 to 54 had a median net worth of $246,700, and Americans aged 55 to 64 had a median net worth of $364,270.
Americans aged 65 to 74 had the highest median net worth at $410,000. Net worth drops off for Americans 75 and older, whose median net worth was $334,700 as they dip into retirement savings.
Age Group | Median Net Worth (2022) |
|---|---|
Younger than 35 | $39,040 |
35-44 | $135,300 |
45-54 | $246,700 |
55-64 | $364,270 |
65-74 | $410,000 |
75 or older | $334,700 |
Average net worth by education
In 2022, the median net worth of Americans with a college degree was $464,400. Meanwhile, the median net worth of Americans with a high school diploma was $107,000, or about a quarter of the net worth of those with a college degree.
Americans with no high school diploma had a median net worth of $38,050 in 2022.
Education | Median Net Worth (2022) |
|---|---|
No high school diploma | $38,050 |
High school diploma | $107,000 |
Some college | $137,041 |
College degree | $464,400 |
The median wealth of Americans without a college degree has recovered more slowly since the 2008 recession than the median net worth of those with a college degree.
Average net worth by race
In 2022, the median net worth of white Americans was $284,310. The median net worth of Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was more than $200,000 less than that.
The median net worth of Black Americans in 2022 was $44,100, and the median wealth of Hispanic Americans was $62,120.
These figures parallel those of average household income and asset ownership -- white households earn more and are more likely to own a home or other valuable assets than Black and Hispanic Americans.
Asian families had the highest median net worth in 2022 at $535,400. The Fed had not previously reported on Asian households in its Survey of Consumer Finances.
Race | Median Net Worth (2022) |
|---|---|
White, non-Hispanic | $284,310 |
Black, non-Hispanic | $44,100 |
Hispanic | $62,120 |
Asian | $535,400 |
Other | $62,800 |
How to increase your net worth
Net worth isn't the only way to judge financial well-being, but taking steps to increase your wealth can be beneficial. The more personal capital you have available, the better off you'll be.
Here are a couple of ways you can start to boost your net worth:
- Focus on paying off debt: Personal debt can weigh heavily on your net worth and delay other steps that can raise your net worth, like investing. The most important steps toward paying off debt are coming up with a plan and sticking to it. The two most popular ways to pay off debt are the avalanche method and the snowball method.
- Raise your income: Learning a new skill or starting a side hustle are ways to boost your income, which helps you pay off debt, save, and invest. Increasing your monthly income is a great way to increase your household net worth, and it can boost your Social Security payment in retirement.
- Open a retirement account: Retirement savings are a great way to effectively boost your wealth without accruing a large tax burden. 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, and other retirement accounts can help increase your wealth significantly over the course of a couple of decades.
- Start investing: Once you've built up an emergency fund in your savings account, investing is the next step to growing your wealth. Investing is a reliable way to build wealth over time, but it's important to stay patient and hold your investments even through market drops and volatility.
FAQs
Sources
- Federal Reserve (2023). "Survey of Consumer Finances."
About the Author
