Wealth statistics at a glance
Wealth in the United States is not just a headline number. It shows up in family balance sheets, home equity, retirement participation, business ownership, and a widening gap between income groups and wealth groups.
Key takeaways
- U.S. families’ real median net worth rose 37% from 2019 to 2022, reaching $192,900 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
- U.S. families’ real mean net worth rose 23% to $1,063,700 over the same period (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
- The U.S. homeownership rate increased to 66.1% in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
- 98.6% of U.S. families owned transaction accounts in 2022, showing how common basic banking access is (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
- 54.3% of U.S. families held retirement accounts in 2022, while 58% had direct or indirect stock market exposure (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
- The top 10% of the usual-income distribution had a median net worth of $3,794,600 in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
Table of contents
- What the latest wealth statistics show
- Income, wealth, and the middle of the distribution
- Homeownership, housing, and debt
- Financial assets and participation
- Wealth by income group
- Wealth by net-worth group
- Long-run wealth concentration
- Global wealth context
- What these wealth statistics mean
What the latest wealth statistics show
The clearest signal in the 2019 to 2022 data is that household wealth rose broadly, but not evenly. Median net worth increased faster than median income, and that matters because wealth captures accumulated assets, debt positions, and housing gains rather than just annual earnings.
Big number: the typical U.S. family now sits far higher on the wealth ladder than it did in 2019, with real median net worth up 37% to $192,900 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
That same report also shows real mean net worth up 23% to $1,063,700 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). The gap between median and mean is large, which is exactly what you expect in a distribution where very wealthy families pull the average up.
At a glance
| Measure | 2019 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real median net worth | $140,800 | $192,900 | +37% (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report) |
| Real mean net worth | $865,300 | $1,063,700 | +23% (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report) |
| Real median family income | $68,300 | $70,300 | +3% (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report) |
| Real mean family income | $123,500 | $141,900 | +15% (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report) |
| Homeownership rate | 64.5% | 66.1% | Higher in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report) |
The comparison is useful because it puts wealth growth in context. Income rose, but wealth rose much more quickly. That does not mean every family gained equally, but it does show that asset values and balance-sheet strength moved faster than paychecks.
Income, wealth, and the middle of the distribution
One of the most useful wealth statistics is the relationship between income and net worth. Higher income usually helps families save, invest, and manage debt, but the distribution is not linear. The data show steep jumps once you move into the upper income bands.
The median family income increased only 3% from 2019 to 2022, reaching $70,300 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). By contrast, median net worth climbed 37%. That spread suggests that asset prices, home equity, and investment holdings played a much larger role than income growth alone.
Why it matters
- Wealth is more sensitive than income to asset price changes.
- Home equity and market holdings can lift net worth even when wages grow slowly.
- Median figures are more useful than means when you want to understand the typical family.
The survey also shows that real mean family income rose 15% to $141,900 from 2019 to 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). Again, the mean grew faster than the median, which is a reminder that higher-income households helped pull the average upward.
Fast facts on household balance sheets
- 92.3% of U.S. families reported at least one nonfinancial asset in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
- 86.6% of U.S. families owned a vehicle in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
- 20% of all U.S. families owned a privately held business in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
These are not niche statistics. They describe the typical American household as an asset holder, not just an income earner.
Homeownership, housing, and debt
Housing remains one of the biggest drivers of U.S. wealth statistics. The Fed data show that the homeownership rate increased to 66.1% in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). That matters because owner-occupied housing is often the largest asset on the household balance sheet.
The median net housing value for U.S. homeowners rose from $139,100 in 2019 to $201,000 in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). That is a substantial gain over a short period, and it helps explain why median net worth moved so sharply.
Housing and debt snapshot
| Housing measure | 2019 | 2022 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homeownership rate | 64.5% | 66.1% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Median net housing value for homeowners | $139,100 | $201,000 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Families with debt secured by primary residence | Not stated for 2019 | 42% in 2022 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
Debt is part of the picture too. About 42% of U.S. families had debt secured by their primary residence in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). That is not necessarily a sign of weakness by itself, because mortgage debt is tied to homeownership and asset accumulation. The key point is that wealth statistics need to be read alongside liabilities, not just assets.
A useful way to interpret the housing numbers is this:
- More homeowners usually means more families exposed to rising home values.
- Higher home values can boost median wealth quickly.
- Mortgage debt offsets some of that value, but not all of it.
Financial assets and participation
The 2022 data show unusually broad participation in the financial system. 98.6% of U.S. families owned transaction accounts in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). That is close to universal access to checking or similar accounts, and it gives households a base layer for paying bills, receiving wages, and moving money.
Asset ownership extends beyond cash management. The survey reports that 54.3% of U.S. families held retirement accounts in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report), and 58% of U.S. stock market participation came from combined direct and indirect holdings in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). That means more than half of families had some exposure to equities, either directly or through funds and accounts.
Financial participation at a glance
| Asset or account type | 2022 share | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction accounts | 98.6% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Retirement accounts | 54.3% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Stock holdings, direct and indirect | 58% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Direct stock holdings | 21.0% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Pooled investment funds | 11.5% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Cash value life insurance | 16.1% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Privately held business ownership | 20% | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
A few details stand out. Only 21.0% of U.S. families held stocks directly in 2022, up from 15.0% in 2019 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). That suggests more households gained market exposure, but often through indirect channels rather than holding individual stocks themselves.
The share with pooled investment funds was 11.5% and the share with cash value life insurance was 16.1% (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). Those figures are smaller than the stock-participation rate, which reinforces a basic point about wealth building: many households hold assets in layered, packaged, or retirement-oriented forms rather than through a simple brokerage account.
Stat callout
98.6% of U.S. families owned transaction accounts in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
That is one of the most important wealth statistics in the dataset because it shows how ordinary banking access underpins everything else.
Wealth by income group
The distributional data make the wealth gap easier to see. Median net worth rises sharply as income rises, and the jump between middle-income and upper-income families is especially large.
Median net worth by usual income percentile
| Usual income percentile | Median net worth in 2022 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 20% | $14,000 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| 20th-39.9th | $71,000 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| 40th-59.9th | $159,300 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| 60th-79.9th | $307,200 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| 80th-89.9th | $747,000 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Top 10% | $3,794,600 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
The pattern is clear: wealth rises much faster than income group rank. A family in the top 10% of the usual-income distribution had a median net worth that was more than 270 times the bottom 20% figure, based on the numbers supplied in the report.
The bottom income group still saw some improvement. Families in the bottom 20% had a median net worth of $14,000 in 2022, up from $11,300 in 2019 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). But the mean for that group was $129,700 in 2022 versus $132,200 in 2019 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report), which tells you that a small number of households in the group still had much higher asset positions than the median family in the same income band.
What the income split says
- Income helps, but it does not mechanically translate into wealth.
- Upper-income families benefit from stronger asset ownership and more room to accumulate.
- Median wealth is the better measure for “typical” households in each band.
Wealth by net-worth group
Income is only one lens. The net-worth distribution shows what happens when families are sorted by actual balance-sheet strength. Here the concentration becomes even more visible.
Median net worth by net-worth percentile
| Net-worth percentile | Median net worth in 2022 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom quartile | $3,500 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| 25th-49.9th | $93,300 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| 50th-74.9th | $356,300 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| 75th-89.9th | $1,036,200 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
| Top 10% | $3,794,600 | Fed SCF 2019-2022 report |
The bottom quartile is especially striking. Families in the bottom quartile of the net-worth distribution had a median net worth of $3,500 in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). They also had a mean net worth of negative $5,300 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report), which indicates that debts outweighed assets on average in that group.
That is a critical distinction in wealth analysis:
- Median net worth shows what the typical family in a group holds.
- Mean net worth shows how debt and large positive balances can tilt the average.
At the other end, families in the top 10% of the net-worth distribution had a median of $3,794,600 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report). The middle bands sit between those extremes, with the 50th-74.9th percentile at $356,300 and the 75th-89.9th percentile at $1,036,200 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report).
Quick interpretation
- The wealth ladder is steep long before you reach the top 10%.
- The middle of the distribution is already far above the bottom quartile.
- Negative mean wealth in the bottom quartile highlights how debt can overwhelm small asset holdings.
Long-run wealth concentration
The distributional financial accounts add a longer-run perspective. These figures show how aggregate wealth shares shifted over time, especially for the top 1% and the bottom 50%.
Aggregate household wealth shares over time
| Group | 1989:Q3 | 2019:Q1 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 1% | 23.28% | 31.24% | Fed DFA accessible data |
| Next 9% | 7.54 trillion | 39.86 trillion | Fed DFA accessible data |
| Next 40% | 7.15 trillion | 29.25 trillion | Fed DFA accessible data |
| Bottom 50% | 3.65% | 1.33% | Fed DFA accessible data |
The top 1% owned 23.28% of aggregate U.S. household wealth in 1989:Q3 and 31.24% by 2019:Q1 (Fed DFA accessible data). That is a major rise in share over three decades.
The bottom 50% moved in the opposite direction, falling from 3.65% to 1.33% of aggregate household wealth over the same span (Fed DFA accessible data). That is the clearest single statistic in the dataset for understanding concentration at the lower end.
The level series tells the same story in dollar terms. The top 1% owned $4.68 trillion in 1989:Q3 and $32.02 trillion by 2019:Q1 (Fed DFA accessible data). The next 9% rose from $7.54 trillion to $39.86 trillion, while the next 40% rose from $7.15 trillion to $29.25 trillion (Fed DFA accessible data). The bottom 50% increased from $0.73 trillion to $1.36 trillion (Fed DFA accessible data).
These are not just bigger numbers. They show that wealth growth was unevenly distributed across the population, with the largest gains accumulating at the top.
Global wealth context
The U.S. data sit inside a broader global picture. Two external comparison points in the dataset help frame that context.
First, global wealth growth recovered to 4.2% in 2023 after a 3% contraction in 2022 (UBS Global Wealth Report 2024). Then global wealth grew 4.6% in 2024 after rising 4.2% in 2023 (UBS Global Wealth Report 2025). That suggests a rebound phase after the 2022 decline.
Second, the World Bank reported that human capital made up 64% of total global wealth in 2018 (World Bank Changing Wealth of Nations 2021). That statistic is useful because it reminds readers that wealth is not only financial assets and housing. Skills, education, and productivity matter too, even if they do not always show up in a household balance sheet.
Why this broader context matters
- U.S. household wealth trends are part of a wider global recovery pattern.
- Wealth includes more than cash, stocks, and homes.
- Human capital remains the largest wealth component globally in the World Bank framing.
What these wealth statistics mean
If you want the shortest possible read on the dataset, it is this: U.S. families became wealthier between 2019 and 2022, but the gains were strongest in assets, housing, and the upper part of the distribution.
The main wealth statistics to remember are:
- Median net worth: $192,900 in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report)
- Mean net worth: $1,063,700 in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report)
- Homeownership rate: 66.1% in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report)
- Transaction-account ownership: 98.6% in 2022 (Fed SCF 2019-2022 report)
- Top 1% wealth share: 31.24% by 2019:Q1 (Fed DFA accessible data)
- Bottom 50% wealth share: 1.33% by 2019:Q1 (Fed DFA accessible data)
Taken together, the numbers show a country where almost everyone participates in the financial system, many households own homes and retirement assets, and the upper end of the distribution holds a disproportionate share of wealth.