Average Net Worth by Age in 2026: Median, Percentiles, and How You Compare
If you Google “average net worth by age,” you’ll mostly get garbage. The averages are skewed beyond usefulness by a small number of very rich households, and almost nobody bothers to publish the percentile breakdowns that would actually tell you where you stand.
So here they are. All numbers come from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (the 2022 SCF, the most recent triennial release).
If you want your exact percentile, drop your number into our Net Worth Calculator.
What counts as net worth?
Everything you own minus everything you owe.
Assets are cash, checking and savings, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts (401k, IRA, Roth), home equity, vehicles, business equity. Liabilities are mortgage, student loans, credit cards, auto loans, anything else you owe.
One catch: the SCF excludes pensions and Social Security, so the numbers below understate retirement readiness for anyone with a real pension. Worth keeping in mind for the older brackets.
Median net worth by age
Median is the household exactly in the middle. Half the country has more, half has less. It’s a much better summary than the mean, which gets yanked upward by the very top.
| Age bracket | Median net worth |
|---|---|
| Under 35 | $39,000 |
| 35 to 44 | $135,600 |
| 45 to 54 | $247,200 |
| 55 to 64 | $364,500 |
| 65 to 74 | $409,900 |
| 75 and up | $335,600 |
The biggest jump is from “under 35” into “35 to 44.” Net worth more than triples. That’s the decade where compounding on early investments, equity build on a first home, and salary growth all stack up at once.
Growth slows by 55 to 64 even though that’s supposedly the peak earning decade. People are paying for college, helping aging parents, and getting hit by health stuff, which eats into the savings rate.
And net worth drops in the 75-and-up bracket because retirees are drawing down to live.
Net worth percentiles by age
Medians only tell you which half you’re in. Percentiles tell you where in the half. Below is the 2022 SCF data at the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 99th percentiles.
Under 35
| Percentile | Net worth |
|---|---|
| p10 | -$10,000 |
| p25 | $2,000 |
| p50 (median) | $39,000 |
| p75 | $151,000 |
| p90 | $373,000 |
| p99 | $1,710,000 |
The bottom 10% of under-35 households are underwater. $151K puts you in the top quarter. $373K, top 10%.
35 to 44
| Percentile | Net worth |
|---|---|
| p10 | -$2,400 |
| p25 | $20,000 |
| p50 (median) | $135,600 |
| p75 | $466,000 |
| p90 | $1,170,000 |
| p99 | $6,140,000 |
First decade where “millionaire by 40” is a top-10% achievement.
45 to 54
| Percentile | Net worth |
|---|---|
| p10 | $0 |
| p25 | $39,000 |
| p50 (median) | $247,200 |
| p75 | $755,500 |
| p90 | $1,990,000 |
| p99 | $11,500,000 |
The gap between the median ($247K) and the 90th ($2M) is huge. That gap is one of the cleaner illustrations of how concentrated US wealth is.
55 to 64
| Percentile | Net worth |
|---|---|
| p10 | $3,000 |
| p25 | $84,000 |
| p50 (median) | $364,500 |
| p75 | $1,037,000 |
| p90 | $2,500,000 |
| p99 | $15,800,000 |
The 75th percentile crosses $1M for the first time. If you’re 55+ with a million, you’re doing better than 3 in 4 households your age.
65 to 74
| Percentile | Net worth |
|---|---|
| p10 | $9,500 |
| p25 | $116,000 |
| p50 (median) | $409,900 |
| p75 | $1,210,000 |
| p90 | $2,700,000 |
| p99 | $16,400,000 |
Peak net worth decade for most Americans.
75 and up
| Percentile | Net worth |
|---|---|
| p10 | $20,000 |
| p25 | $113,000 |
| p50 (median) | $335,600 |
| p75 | $885,000 |
| p90 | $2,000,000 |
| p99 | $11,200,000 |
The floor (p10) is higher than any other bracket. Older households still around have usually paid off houses and survived enough markets to have something. The top end falls because the wealthiest start gifting and spending down.
Average vs median: why the gap matters
If you look up “average net worth by age,” you’ll see numbers two to three times bigger than the medians above. That’s the mean, and it’s badly distorted. For 45 to 54, the median is $247K but the mean is around $834K, because the top 1% holds more than 30% of all US wealth.
When a finance blog quotes you an “average,” they almost always mean the mean. That’s not the number you want to compare yourself to. Use the median, or better, the specific percentile.
How to actually use these numbers
A few framings that work:
Beat your bracket’s median, you’re ahead of half the country your age. That’s the cleanest signal.
Track your trajectory more than your current spot. A 28-year-old at the 25th percentile saving 30% of their income will pass the median fast. A 55-year-old at the 75th who’s overspending will slip. Direction matters more than position.
Mind the gaps between percentiles. Going from p50 to p75 is usually one or two strong career decades plus disciplined investing. Going from p75 to p90 almost always needs an equity event on top of that (home appreciation in a hot market, a business sale, RSUs at a winning company).
Don’t bother with p99. It’s a curiosity. The 99th percentile is dominated by inheritance, business owners, and equity windfalls. Not a target you can save your way to.
Where the wealth lives matters too
A $500K net worth where $480K is locked in home equity behaves nothing like a $500K net worth where $480K is in an index fund. The first is illiquid and concentrated. The second is flexible and globally diversified.
The SCF measures total net worth but doesn’t split liquid from illiquid. For retirement planning, composition matters as much as the total.
Get your exact percentile
Want a precise number rather than a bracket? The Net Worth Calculator interpolates within your age bracket using the same SCF data above.
If you’d rather not check it manually every quarter, Bonsave connects to your accounts and updates your net worth automatically.
Methodology note
All percentile data above is from the 2022 Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, rounded to whole thousands. The SCF is published every three years. The 2025 release is expected in late 2026 and we’ll update this post when it lands. Values exclude defined-benefit pension wealth and expected Social Security benefits.