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What is the average household net worth in the United States in 2025 (mean and median)?
Executive Summary
The best publicly available estimates place the United States mean (average) household net worth near $1.06 million and the median household net worth around $188–193 thousand in the mid‑2020s, with most sources tying the mean to the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances and the median to both that survey and 2025 estimates from private analysts [1] [2] [3]. The gap between mean and median is large because the mean is pulled up by a small number of very wealthy households while the median better captures the typical household. Published figures from 2022 are the most authoritative for the mean, while multiple 2025 estimates converge on a median near $188K–$193K [1] [3] [4].
1. Why the headline numbers cluster around $1.06M and ~$192K
Public data and recent media analyses consistently report a mean household net worth of about $1.06 million, a figure that traces to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) data released in 2023 covering 2022 interviews [1] [2]. Multiple 2025 articles and compilations cite that SCF‑derived mean as the closest authoritative average available, noting it is heavily skewed by the top of the wealth distribution and is therefore not representative of the “typical” household [5] [6]. For median estimates, private studies published in 2025 place median household net worth in a narrow band around $187,690–$193,000, which matches or is very close to the SCF’s 2022 median of roughly $192,900; these median figures have been reported by consumer finance outlets and state‑level breakdowns in 2025 analyses [1] [3] [2].
2. How the data sources differ and what each actually measures
The Federal Reserve’s SCF provides the most authoritative distributional data on household balance sheets, producing the mean and median typically cited, but the latest SCF release documents data collected in 2022 and published in 2023, so the reported $1.06M mean and ~$192.9K median reflect conditions through 2022 [1] [7]. Private estimates and media extrapolations in 2025 use macro series such as FRED’s total household net worth and state or age‑group analyses to produce updated median estimates; those yield medians in the $187K–$193K band but do not produce a defensible 2025 mean independent of the SCF because the mean is highly sensitive to valuation changes among the ultra‑wealthy and requires microdata to update reliably [8] [3] [4].
3. What drives the divergence between mean and median — the mechanics of wealth concentration
The large distance between the mean (~$1.06M) and the median (~$192K) reflects extreme wealth concentration at the top of the distribution; the mean is materially influenced by asset price moves among the richest households while the median reflects the central household that is much less exposed to outsized capital gains. Analysts in 2025 point to financial asset appreciation and housing value changes as the primary drivers of year‑over‑year aggregate household wealth growth, with one summary noting financial assets rose significantly and contributed the majority of recent gains, but these aggregate gains do not translate evenly across the distribution [9] [8] [4]. As a result, an increase in total net worth can coincide with a modest change in median net worth while the mean rises substantially.
4. Regional and age breakdowns show wide variation beneath the headline numbers
State and demographic breakdowns reveal major heterogeneity: median net worth varies dramatically by state and age cohort, with reported medians ranging from roughly $76,000 in lower‑wealth states to over $500,000 in the richest states, and average net worth rising sharply with age—estimates show household averages of roughly $280K for under‑40s and over $2M for some 55–69 cohorts in recent analyses [3] [9]. These subnational and age patterns underscore that the headline mean and median mask meaningful differences: a typical younger household or households in lower‑wealth states sit far below the national median, while older cohorts and high‑wealth states account for much of the aggregate wealth stock that lifts the mean.
5. What to take away — reliability, remaining uncertainty, and practical implications
For 2025 questions, the most defensible statement is that the SCF‑anchored mean remains about $1.06M (from 2022 microdata) and multiple 2025 estimates converge on a median near $188K–$193K [1] [2] [3]. Uncertainty remains because the official microdata that underpin mean estimates lag calendar years and because private median updates rely on different methodologies; therefore, while the median estimate for 2025 is reasonably stable, any precise 2025 mean requires a new SCF cycle or equivalent microdata to confirm. Policymakers and consumers should therefore treat the median as the more representative gauge of the typical household’s financial position and view the mean as an indicator of aggregate wealth concentrated among the richest households [6] [1].