Average American net worth and income in 2026: average vs median
The median US family has $215,900 in net worth and the average $1.24 million (Fed, 2025). Per adult the median is $93,600. What the numbers mean and where you rank.
Short answer: according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, released in October 2026, the median American family had a net worth of $215,900 in 2025, and the average (mean) family had $1.24 million. Median family income was $82,200 and mean family income $145,200. The Census Bureau puts median household income in 2025 at $87,460, the highest on record.
Measured per adult rather than per family, the typical American has a net worth of about $93,600 and a pre-tax income of about $53,500; the averages are $588,000 and $96,500. That is the basis our calculator uses, so you can compare yourself with every adult in the US and the world.
Why the average is so much higher than the median
The average is total wealth divided by the number of families, so a few very rich families pull it up. The median is the family in the middle: half have more, half have less. In the US the average family has almost six times the net worth of the median family. That gap is one of the widest among rich countries (average versus median wealth), because the richest 1% of American adults own about 34% of all household wealth.
For most purposes the median is the better answer to “what does a typical American have?”. The average answers a different question: how much wealth there is per family in total.
Per family or per adult?
| Per family (Fed, 2025) | Per adult (our model, 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| Median net worth | $215,900 | $93,600 |
| Average net worth | $1.24 million | $588,000 |
| Median income, pre-tax | $82,200 | $53,500 |
| Average income, pre-tax | $145,200 | $96,500 |
A family can include two adults, so per-adult figures are lower. Our model splits each household’s wealth equally between its adults, follows the World Inequality Database and uses a broad income measure that includes employer pension contributions and capital income. That makes it comparable across 77 countries.
Net worth by age
Age matters more than anything else. The Fed’s 2025 survey shows a median net worth of about $33,000 for families headed by someone under 35, and $504,000 for those aged 75 and over, the highest of any age group. Most Americans build wealth slowly through home equity and retirement accounts, so being below the national median in your 20s or 30s is normal.
Where the thresholds are
| Group | Net worth per adult from | Pre-tax income per adult from |
|---|---|---|
| Median adult | $93,600 | $53,500 |
| Top 10% | $1.19 million | $176,000 |
| Top 5% | $2.04 million | $256,000 |
| Top 1% | $5.42 million | $591,000 |
| Top 0.1% | $26.5 million | $2.78 million |
Some common amounts, ranked against all American adults:
- $100,000 net worth: top 49% (details)
- $500,000 net worth: top 24% (details)
- $1 million net worth: top 12% (details)
- $75,000 income: top 27% (details)
- $100,000 income: top 18% (details)
- $200,000 income: top 4.5% (details)
How Americans compare with the world
The median American adult is in the world’s top 14% by wealth and the top 7.3% by income. About 8.9% of American adults are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and the US is home to roughly four in ten of the world’s dollar millionaires. Still, the US is not top of the list for the typical adult: the median adult in Switzerland, Australia or Belgium has more (median net worth by country).
Frequently asked questions
What is the average net worth of an American?
$1.24 million per family (mean, Fed 2025), but the median is $215,900. Per adult, the median is about $93,600.
What is a good net worth for my age?
Compare yourself with your age group rather than the whole country: around $33,000 is the median for families under 35, rising to over $500,000 for those 75 and older (Fed, 2025).
What is the median household income in the US?
$87,460 in 2025, according to the Census Bureau. That is per household; many households have two earners.
Where do I rank?
Enter your net worth or income in the calculator to see your rank among American adults and in the world. Nothing you type leaves your browser. For more on the US, see the United States country page.