Economy
Federal Reserve survey finds higher median wealth but greater debt-payment strain
The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances finds that real median family income rose 7 percent from 2022 to $82,200, while real median net worth increased 2 percent to $215,900. Stock-market participation edged down, and the share of families with debt payments exceeding 40 percent of income rose to 8.6 percent. The survey offers a broad view of household finances, though its findings describe distributions across families rather than the experience of every household.
Editorial summary · Publisher article
What matters
- Real mean family income fell 6 percent to $145,200 even as median income rose.
- Real mean net worth increased 7 percent to $1.24 million.
- Homeownership was about unchanged at 66 percent, while median net housing value rose.
- Stock-market participation declined from 58 percent to 56 percent.
- The survey was conducted by NORC using scientific sampling across metropolitan and rural areas.
Context & caveats
- The survey reports conditions in 2025 and does not by itself explain the causes of the changes.
Why this made the edition
The Federal Reserve provides detailed, representative survey data on household income, wealth, debt and financial vulnerability, with comparisons to 2022.
Source material