Average American Net Worth by Age Group, Education, and More

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Key takeaways:

Net worth is one of the metrics that shows a person or household’s overall wealth
The average American net worth is $748,000, but the median for households is $121,700
Americans 65 to 74 have the highest average net worth at $1,217,700
Those with a college degree have the highest net worth compared to those without one
The median net worth for White Americans is seven times higher than Black Americans

The Federal Reserve conducts a survey every few years to see where Americans stand financially. As of 2019, they found that the average American net worth was $748,000. The median net worth for American households was $121,700 during this same time. So, where do you stand?

Knowing your net worth and how you compare to other Americans can be a good way to see where you stand financially and how secure you are in your future.

Here, we’ll go over the average American net worth by age, education, household type, and more. This will give you a rough idea of how you compare, and then we’ll give some actionable tips you can use to increase your net worth and improve your financial well-being.

Table of contents:

What is a net worth?
Key American net worth statistics
Average net worth by age
Average net worth by education level
Average net worth by housing status
Average net worth by family structure
Average net worth by state
Average net worth by race
Average net worth by location
How to increase your net worth
Why your net worth matters

What Is Net Worth?

Your net worth is comprised of your assets and your liabilities. Your assets include anything you own that’s worth money, which includes the following:

Checking and savings account funds
Investment accounts
Retirement accounts
Stocks and bonds
Vehicles and homes you own

Liabilities are your debts, such as:

Bank debt
Credit card debt
Mortgage loan
Vehicle loan
Student loan debt

Key American net worth statistics

How much you save and invest aren’t the only contributing factors to your net worth. Here are some of the key findings and factors for the average net worth of Americans as reported by the Federal Reserve.

Average net worth by age

As of 2019, the median net worth of Americans was $121,700 and the mean was $748,800. The median is the main number to look at because it helps separate outliers. For example, if you had $100 and someone had $5, the average (or mean) would be $52, but that’s not an accurate picture because the person with $5 is so far from that average number. With net worth, the median helps separate the extremely wealthy from the average American.

Here, we’ve listed both the mean and median net worth of Americans by age:

Age group	Median net worth	Mean net worth
Under 35	$13,900	$76,300
35 to 44	$91,300	$436,200
45 to 54	$168,600	$833,200
55 to 64	$212,500	$1,175,900
65 to 74	$266,400	$1,217,700
75 and older	$254,800	$977,600

What’s a good net worth for your age group?

While you might be looking to increase your net worth, it’s helpful to remember that everyone’s situation and goals are different. Your ideal net worth should be the amount you need to have to live comfortably and pursue the activities that you enjoy.

As we’ll cover in upcoming sections, education, family structure, race, and more all statistically influence net worth. In fact, Georgetown University published a study showing that one of the primary predictors of wealth was being born into a family with a high socioeconomic status (SES). The report found that these children often receive the material support they need to increase their scores, earn college degrees, and work in good entry-level jobs as young adults.

What age group has the highest average net worth in America

Average net worth by education level

Education is one of the primary predictors of wealth in America, and those with a college degree have a median net worth of over 1,400 percent more than those without a high school degree. These individuals also have a median net worth of $219,400 more than those who only have some college.

Education level	Median net worth	Mean net worth
No high school diploma	$20,500	$137,800
High school diploma	$74,000	$305,200
Some college	$88,800	$376,400
College degree	$308,200	$1,519,900

Average net worth by housing status

Owning a home is one of the primary ways that people increase their net worth. In fact, many people buy homes as an investment. With every renovation, the value of a home typically increases, depending on the economy. During times when the housing market is performing well, a person’s net worth can grow significantly with homeownership.

Housing status	Median net worth	Mean net worth
Renter or other	$6,300	$95,600
Homeowner	$255,000	$1,102,100

Homeowners have a median net worth of nearly $250,000 more than renters. To buy a home, you need a quality credit score as well as the funds for a down payment.

Average net worth by family structure

The Federal Reserve charts how different family structures vary in net worth as well, and it shows that couples without children have a significantly higher net worth than single Americans. This makes sense because these are typically dual-income households without the additional expenses of raising children.

Family structure	Median net worth	Mean net worth
Single (less than 55 years old), no child	$15,700	$131,760
Single with child(ren)	$36,710	$284,620
Single (55 years or older), no child	$119,500	$444,900
Couple with child(ren)	$166,300	$879,210
Couple, no child	$251,700	$1,314,550

Median net worth by family structure in America

Average net worth by state

Empower recently ran a survey of their users to discover the average net worth from state to state. Currently, California has the highest average net worth at $884,003, followed by Connecticut and Washington, which are at $873,746 and $865,309, respectively. The state with the lowest average net worth is North Dakota at $339,955.

In a section on why some states rank high or low, Todd Burnaford at Empower says, “Not surprisingly, some of the states with the largest numbers of millionaire households ranked high in net worth.

For example, New Jersey has the highest ratios of millionaire households per capita (9.76%). Connecticut (9.44%), Massachusetts (9.38%), California (8.51%), New Hampshire (8.47%) and Virginia (8.31%) also rank in the top 10 in both average net worth and ratio of millionaire households per capita.”

Average net worth by race

As previously discussed, education and family wealth are key indicators of a person’s net worth in America, and race plays a role in this as well. In the table below, you’ll find that the median net worth of White Americans is seven times higher than Black Americans and five times that of Hispanic and Latin Americans.

Race or ethnicity	Median net worth	Mean net worth
White, non-Hispanic	$189,000	$980,550
Black or African American, non-Hispanic	$24,100	$142,330
Hispanic or Latino	$36,050	$165,540
Other or multiple race	$74,500	$656,600

Average net worth by location

The Federal Reserve’s report shows that those living in urban areas and big cities have a median net worth two times that of those living in smaller communities. The report splits the two types of locations into Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and non-MSAs. Non-MSAs are locations with populations of 50,000 people or less, as explained by the Cornell University website.

Location type	Median net worth	Mean net worth
MSA	$126,000	$806,400
Non-MSA	$90,400	$324,800

How to increase your net worth

Now that you know where you stand, if you’re looking to increase your net worth, here are some steps you can take to improve your financial future.

Pay off your debt: Your net worth is comprised of what you own (assets) and what you owe (liabilities). You can begin increasing your net worth by paying down your debt as best you can.
Start saving: Putting some money away each paycheck can help increase your net worth over time. This is especially true if you take advantage of a high-yield savings account, which pays you interest for holding your money in the account.
Invest: The stock market may seem complicated, but this is one of the ways people improve their net worth. Even investing in something simple like the S&P 500 index provides you with an average of 10 percent per year.
Contribute to your 401(k) or a Roth IRA: Many companies offer a 401(k) for employees that match your contributions up to a certain amount. For example, if a company offers a 10 percent contribution, for every $100 you invest in your retirement, they’ll give you a free $10. If your company doesn’t offer a 401(k), independently investing in a Roth IRA is similar, but it’s directly through a stock brokerage.

Lastly, you can create a budget. Finding where you can cut your spending and save money will provide you with more funds to pay down debt and then begin saving and investing.

Why your net worth matters

Your current net worth is a predictor of your future net worth. If you’re looking to retire or leave money for your children, your net worth is an important factor. Unfortunately, if you have a low credit score, it can make building your net worth difficult. Not only does a low credit score mean you’re paying higher interest rates and security deposits, but it’ll be difficult to buy a home and take other steps that vastly increase your net worth.

Here at Credit.com, we’re here to help you find the tools, resources, and tips to manage your credit. If you’re not sure where you stand with your credit score, we’ll provide you with your credit score for free, and you can also receive a free credit report card. We also offer a variety of products like ExtraCredit, which can help you build your credit by reporting items to the credit bureaus that usually don’t help your score, so sign up today!

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