2025 Survey Shows Median Income Up 7% as Mean Income Falls

The Federal Reserve Board released the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances on October 9, 2026, showing that real median family income rose 7 percent to $82,200 while real mean family income fell 6 percent to $145,200. The findings provide a representative picture of what American families own, how they borrow, and how they bank.

Real median net worth increased 2 percent to $215,900 and real mean net worth rose 7 percent to $1.24 million. The homeownership rate held steady at 66 percent, and for families that owned a home the median net housing value climbed to $230,000 from $218,900 in 2022.

Retirement-plan participation was roughly 65 percent, a slight increase from 2022, and balances for families with account-type plans rose at both the median and mean levels. Stock-market participation slipped to 56 percent from 58 percent, though conditional median stock holdings grew 36 percent to $77,400 from $56,900. The share of families with any debt remained at 77 percent, with median and mean debt unchanged, while the fraction with debt-payment-to-income ratios above 40 percent rose from 6.5 percent to 8.6 percent, a level last seen in the 2013 survey.

The survey, conducted every three years since 1989, was administered for the Board by NORC at the University of Chicago using scientific sampling across 119 geographic areas. An interactive chartbook and the full summary report, "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025," are available online, and additional data sets are provided to researchers and the public. Media inquiries may be directed to the Board's press office.