The average 50-something is worth $1.5 million. Most have far less

The average 50-something American is now worth $1.5 million.

Older and more affluent Americans keep getting wealthier, according to new data from the federal Survey of Consumer Finances .

Average net worth hit $876,091 in 2025 for Americans ages 40 to 49, up from $742,568 in 2022. And that's in "real" dollars, adjusted for inflation.

The average 60-something American is now worth an eye-popping $1.96 million. Seventy-somethings are worth $1.88 million.

"The underlying story here is that retirees are getting richer," said Andrew Biggs , a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Overall average net worth, a household's assets minus its liabilities, rose from $1.16 million in 2022 to $1.23 million in 2025.

Rising stock and home values fueled rising net worth

Rising stock and home values have driven a sharp increase in the net worth of older and wealthier Americans since 2019, especially during the peak pandemic years.

Not a millionaire yet? Don't despair. The numbers listed above are averages, and the super-rich drive them way up.

Median net worth – picture the middle number in a long list of numbers – rose as well, but to a much lower figure. The median American household had a net worth of $216,100 in 2025, up from $210,890 in 2022.

Household wealth grew at a record pace during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2019 and 2022, the median net worth of American households rose 37%, the largest jump ever recorded in the federal survey, which comes out every three years. Median net worth rose a more modest 2.5%, after inflation, between 2022 and 2025.

To illustrate how wealth accumulates over a lifetime, here's a decade-by-decade breakdown of net worth in America.

Average net worth declined for this group (from $131,846 in 2022), after adjusting for inflation. Median net worth was flat.

(Monique Morrissey, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, cautions that year-to-year changes for specific age groups may not be statistically significant, because of the survey's small sample size.)

Americans in their 20s are just starting out. They're working their first jobs at relatively low pay and paying down student loans. Any dreams of buying a home will probably have to wait.

"These people are just beginning their careers," said Elizabeth Renter, lead economist at Life360, the information technology company. "Many haven't purchased a house yet, and their investment accounts are in the beginning stages."