US Median Family Income Climbs 7 Percent to 82,200 Dollars as Top Earners Slip, Fed Finds
Real median family income in the United States rose 7 percent between the 2022 and 2025 surveys to 82,200 dollars, while real mean income fell 6 percent to 145,200 dollars, the Federal Reserve Board said on 9 October in the results of its triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, released at 14:00 GMT. In the report’s dating, median income rose from 76,900 dollars in 2021 to 82,200 dollars in 2024. On our calculation the mean now stands at 1.77 times the median, down from 2.02 times in the 2022 survey, in line with the report’s finding that income inequality decreased slightly between surveys. Wealth grew more modestly. Real median net worth rose 2 percent to 215,900 dollars and the mean rose 7 percent to 1,241,500 dollars, lifting the mean to 5.75 times the median from 5.51 times, though the report judged wealth inequality little changed since 2022. All figures are in 2025 dollars.
Income gaps narrow as the top decile gives ground
The distance between the average family and the typical family shrank to 63,000 dollars of annual income from 78,400 dollars, on our calculation. The change came from the top. Families in the highest 10 percent of usual income saw their median income fall 6 percent to 387,200 dollars and their mean income fall 14 percent to 652,000 dollars, a drop of 105,000 dollars in the average for that group on our calculation. Excluding families in the top 1 percent of income, the report found, mean income declined only 1 percent. At the other end, families in the lowest fifth of usual income saw median income rise 4 percent to 24,600 dollars and mean income rise 8 percent. On our calculation the top decile’s median income was 15.7 times the bottom fifth’s in the 2025 survey, against 17.5 times in the 2022 survey.
Spread over the three years between surveys, the 7 percent gain in median income works out at 2.2 percent a year in real terms, on our calculation. The longer comparison is firmer still: median income is 11 percent above the 2019 survey and mean income 8 percent above it. The gains were broad by age. Families headed by someone aged 75 or older saw median income jump 24 percent to 66,800 dollars, while mean income for families aged 35 to 44 fell 25 percent, a loss of 46,200 dollars in the average on our calculation, which the report attributed to lower capital gains income. Hispanic families recorded a 31 percent rise in median income to 66,800 dollars. Black non-Hispanic and Asian families were the exceptions, with median income down 2 percent to 49,400 dollars and down 3 percent to 129,900 dollars respectively. A college degree still carried 3.6 times the median income of families without a high school diploma, on our calculation.
Family income by usual-income group, 2025 survey
| Usual-income percentile | Median 2025 ($000) | Median change (%) | Mean change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All families | 82.2 | 7 | -6 |
| Below 20 | 24.6 | 4 | 8 |
| 20 to 39.9 | 50.5 | 3 | 3 |
| 40 to 59.9 | 83.1 | 7 | 6 |
| 60 to 79.9 | 129.2 | 2 | -1 |
| 80 to 89.9 | 201.3 | -3 | -4 |
| 90 to 100 | 387.2 | -6 | -14 |
Family income in thousands of 2025 dollars; changes are between the 2022 and 2025 surveys, which the report dates as income in 2021 and 2024. Source: 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, report Table 1.
Wealth gains go to older and higher-income families
Net worth grew much more slowly than between the 2019 and 2022 surveys. On our calculation the median grew 0.8 percent a year and the mean 2.2 percent a year between 2022 and 2025, and the gap between the two widened to 1,025,600 dollars from 953,000 dollars. For comparison, median net worth rose 17.6 percent and the mean 1.7 percent across the three years between the 2016 and 2019 surveys, against 2 percent and 7 percent this time.
The split by income is stark. Families in the top tenth of usual income lifted median net worth 31 percent to 3,669,900 dollars, while the lowest fifth saw it slip 6 percent to 14,400 dollars. On our calculation the top group’s median wealth was 255 times the bottom group’s, against 183 times three years earlier. Ranked by wealth itself, the top 10 percent of families had median net worth of 4,935,200 dollars, up 19 percent and, on our calculation, 22.9 times the median for all families; their mean of 8,975,200 dollars was 7.2 times the all-family mean.
Age split the results sharply. Families under 35 saw median net worth fall 23 percent to 33,000 dollars and mean net worth fall 33 percent to 135,400 dollars, which the report linked to the unwinding of business equity gains made between 2019 and 2022. Families aged 75 or older moved the other way, with median net worth up 37 percent to 504,900 dollars, driven mainly by higher retirement account values, and on our reading they now hold the highest median wealth of any age group. On our calculation the oldest group’s median was 15.3 times the youngest group’s, against 8.6 in 2022. Homeowners’ median net worth of 458,900 dollars was 43.3 times that of renters at 10,600 dollars on our calculation, up from 38.0 times. Families without a high school diploma saw median net worth fall 55 percent to 18,600 dollars while their mean rose 53 percent, the group’s largest percentage decline in the median in the modern survey.
Median net worth by age of reference person
| Age group | 2022 ($000) | 2025 ($000) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 42.7 | 33.0 | -23 |
| 35 to 44 | 148.4 | 155.6 | 5 |
| 45 to 54 | 270.6 | 253.7 | -6 |
| 55 to 64 | 398.9 | 411.9 | 3 |
| 65 to 74 | 448.6 | 431.3 | -4 |
| 75 or more | 367.3 | 504.9 | 37 |
| All families | 211.1 | 215.9 | 2 |
Thousands of 2025 dollars; report Table 2.
Homes, stocks and a heavier debt-service load
The homeownership rate was 66 percent, little changed from 2022. For owners, median net housing value rose to 230,000 dollars from 218,900 dollars, a gain of 5.1 percent on our calculation, and the conditional median home was worth 375,000 dollars, or 4.56 times median family income on our calculation; the report described housing affordability as near its historical low. Participation in the stock market eased to 56 percent from 58 percent, with the decline coming from families outside the top income decile, but median holdings among stock owners rose 36 percent to 77,400 dollars. Retirement accounts were owned by 54.9 percent of families, with the conditional median up 11 percent to 106,000 dollars and the mean up 23 percent to 451,100 dollars.
The share of families with any debt was stable at 77 percent, and median and mean debt outstanding were unchanged. Inside that total, the median mortgage or other home-secured debt rose to 183,600 dollars from 170,200 dollars, up 7.9 percent on our calculation. Median credit card debt was 3,100 dollars against a mean of 8,000 dollars, a gap of 4,900 dollars on our calculation. Student debt was carried by 20 percent of families, 2 percentage points fewer than in 2022.
The strain shows in payments rather than in balances. The median debt payment-to-income ratio rose 2.0 percentage points to 15.4 percent, and total debt rose to 94.9 percent of income from 89.4 percent. The share of families spending more than 40 percent of income on debt payments climbed to 8.6 percent from 6.5 percent, a relative increase of 32 percent on our calculation and a level last seen in the 2013 survey. Families were more likely to be behind on their obligations than at any point since the 2010 survey. Against assets the picture is calmer: the median leverage ratio fell to 26.9 percent, extending a steady decline seen since the 2013 survey.
Household balance-sheet indicators
| Indicator | 2022 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Owns primary residence (%) | 66.1 | 65.6 |
| Stock market participation (%) | 58 | 56 |
| Median stock holdings, owners ($000) | 56.9 | 77.4 |
| Median net housing value, owners ($000) | 218.9 | 230.0 |
| Median home-secured debt, borrowers ($000) | 170.2 | 183.6 |
| Total debt to income (%) | 89.4 | 94.9 |
| Debt payments above 40% of income (% of families) | 6.5 | 8.6 |
Dollar values in thousands of 2025 dollars.
Why it matters: The 2025 survey splits the story in two. The typical family’s income grew faster than prices over a period in which, according to the report, consumer prices rose at an average annual rate of 3.6 percent and unemployment rose to 4.2 percent from 3.7 percent. Wealth gains were uneven: median net worth rose 37 percent for families aged 75 or older, driven mainly by retirement accounts, while young families, renters and families without a diploma lost ground. The rise in the median debt payment-to-income ratio to 15.4 percent, with home-secured debt larger and more families behind on payments, points to a group of households for whom debt service is rising faster than income.
Outlook: The 2025 results now become the reference point for US family balance sheets until the next triennial wave. With 37 percent of families saying they did not have a good idea of their income for the coming year, a record for the survey, and the share of families spending more than 40 percent of income on debt payments back at its 2013 level, debt service is the measure to watch in the data that follow.
Sources: Federal Reserve, The Edge.
