What was the average US household net worth in 2023?

1. What the competing claims actually say — sorting the headline numbers that circulate

Different summaries and calculators repeat a similar headline: “average ≈ $1.06 million” for the latest SCF-based estimate. One aggregator reports $1,059,470 derived from the Fed’s 2022 SCF (released October 2023) and labels that as the 2023 average because the survey window extended into 2023 ^[2]. A financial content site states about $1.06 million as the average and reports a median near $192,900, explicitly citing the Fed’s SCF release ^[3]. The Federal Reserve’s own SCF materials published October 2023 present the underlying tables and a mean of about $1,063.7 thousand (i.e., $1.0637 million) for the 2022 survey, which is commonly quoted as the latest national benchmark ^[1]. These sources converge on the same ballpark mean while emphasizing the difference between mean and median ^{[3] [4]}.

2. Why publications call it “2023” — timing, survey windows, and labeling disputes

The SCF labeled by year 2022 was collected from February 2022 through April 2023 and released in October 2023; that collection window explains why many secondary sources describe the resulting statistics using 2023 in headlines ^{[2] [1]}. Some analyses and web tools use the Fed’s release date or the latter months of the collection window to refer to the figures as 2023 values, while the Fed’s own narrative often frames them as the 2022 SCF ^{[5] [6]}. A handful of content aggregators mistakenly rely on older datasets or misattribute dates; one review flagged that some sources don’t actually contain 2023 data and instead carry older snapshots, creating confusion about which year the mean represents ^[7]. The technical fact is that the SCF’s mean reflects wealth measured across 2022–April 2023 and was published in late 2023, which is why both “2022 SCF” and “2023 release” labels appear in the public record ^[1].

3. Mean versus median — the distribution story that changes the headline

The mean of roughly $1.06 million and the median near $193,000 both come from the SCF release and tell a different story about distribution: the mean is strongly skewed upward by high‑wealth households, while the median captures the central household experience and stays far lower ^{[3] [4]}. Calculators and percentile tables that reproduce the SCF data show how a small share of households with very large net worths raise the average substantially ^[8]. Reporting the mean without the median can mislead readers about the typical household; conversely, reporting only the median masks the sheer concentration of wealth above the median. Both measures are accurate for different analytic purposes and are present in the Fed’s output ^[1].

4. Alternative tools and corroboration — calculators, CSVs, and coverage gaps

Independent tools and aggregators recreated the Fed’s figures: a net‑worth percentile calculator and data tables reproduce the ≈$1.06 million mean and show percentile breakouts consistent with the SCF ^{[2] [8]}. The Federal Reserve provides downloadable tables and CSVs going back decades, enabling verification and re‑analysis; the distribution table since 1989 is available though some web interfaces require dynamic loading to access the full CSV ^{[5] [6]}. Several secondary sites summarized the same Fed release but sometimes used different framing or older data; one source explicitly notes it lacked 2023 figures and referenced older years, illustrating why checking the original SCF tables matters ^[7]. The consensus across these reproductions is clear: SCF‑based mean ≈ $1.06M; median ≈ $193k ^{[1] [2]}.

5. What to tell someone who just wants a simple answer — the responsible headline and caveats

The concise, supportable reply is: “The average (mean) U.S. household net worth measured by the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances — data collected through April 2023 and released in October 2023 — is about $1.06 million; the median is about $193,000.” This statement reflects the Fed’s published tables and the independent reproductions that cite them ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Note the important caveat: the mean and median serve different purposes and the SCF’s collection window explains why some outlets call these “2023” figures even though the Fed designates the survey as the 2022 SCF ^{[1] [2]}.