(Note: This post is part of a long series, prepared in advance of leaving town on a three-week vacation.)
—
Here it is:
Author’s chart. Data for chart from “What's the average net worth for your age?” (Fidelity, December 2024)
Per What's the average net worth for your age?/Fidelity (December 2024):
Average net worth by age (1): Unsurprisingly, net worth tends to rise with age. People may earn more as they advance in their careers, creating room in their budgets to pay down debt and purchase more assets. Plus, money saved and invested at younger ages will have had years to potentially grow and benefit from compounding. Net worth tends to continue climbing until people stop receiving work paychecks and start living off their savings.
Median household net worth by age (2): While average net worth is good to know, median net worth by age may be more representative of the state of wealth across the country. That's because median net worth looks at the 50th percentile of earners—those right in the middle—while average net worth factors in outliers of people with very high and very low net worths. Looking at the median is a more informative tool to determine how your wealth compares to others in your age range.
—
Fidelity’s Data Sources:
1. Page 12, Table 2, “Family median and net worth, selected characteristics of families, 2019 and 2022 surveys,” Changes in US Family Finances, from 2019 to 2022: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 2023.
2. Page 12, Table 2, “Family median and net worth, selected characteristics of families, 2019 and 2022 surveys,” Changes in US Family Finances, from 2019 to 2022: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 2023.