Generations Rollercoaster
Are young Americans richer than in 1995?
The median net worth of American families headed by someone under 35, in every Federal Reserve survey from 1995 to 2025.
Yes, but only lately. For a quarter of a century, the typical young American household was worth roughly the same small amount: somewhere between $14,000 and $25,000 in today's dollars. Then, in the 2022 survey, the figure more than doubled. By 2025 it had fallen back by about a quarter, to $32,800, still well above the $25,400 of 1995 and anything recorded before 2022.
See the numbers
| Survey year | Median net worth, under 35 |
|---|---|
| 1995 | $25.4k |
| 1998 | $18.2k |
| 2001 | $21.4k |
| 2004 | $24.4k |
| 2007 | $18.3k |
| 2010 | $13.9k |
| 2013 | $14.6k |
| 2016 | $14.9k |
| 2019 | $17.8k |
| 2022 | $42.7k |
| 2025 | $32.8k |
What it shows
Each point is a median: half of young families were worth more, half less. The figures are adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars, so the line compares buying power rather than price tags.
The long flat stretch is the striking part. From 1995 to 2019 the median moved within a band of less than $12,000, dipping to its lowest point, $13,900, in 2010, after the housing crash and the recession that followed. The 2022 survey then recorded $42,700, the highest in the series. In 2025 it was $32,800: lower than 2022, but still close to double the 2019 figure.
Net worth is everything a family owns, such as savings, retirement accounts, cars and home equity, minus everything it owes, including mortgages, student loans and credit cards. For young households a small change on either side moves the total a long way, because both sides start small.
What it leaves out
A chart shows what happened, not why. The years around 2022 brought rising home prices, pandemic-era savings and support payments, and strong markets, and any of these may have played a part; the survey itself does not separate them. It also does not follow the same people over time. Each survey is a fresh sample, so the under-35s of 1995 are now in their late forties to mid-sixties.
A median also hides the spread. Many young families have little or negative net worth, while a few hold a great deal. This is general information, not financial advice; for decisions about your own money, talk to a qualified adviser.
Sources and method
Figures come from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, table view, net worth by age of reference person, median, all values in 2025 dollars, as published on 9 October 2026. The survey interviews a representative sample of US families every three years. We show every survey from 1995 to 2025.
And the answer is → Yes, by about $7,000: a median of $32,800 in 2025 against $25,400 in 1995, in today's dollars, after a long flat stretch and a leap in 2022.
