Average net worth by age for Americans: How do you compare? (2024)

Average net worth by education

While higher education can be costly in the short term, the results are noticeable for Americans who obtain college degrees. At every additional stage of education, both average and median net worth increase for American households. One concern Americans have is taking on student loan debt, but picking the right major can help you pay off your debt while increasing your net worth.

The difference between college graduates and those who did not finish high school is most stark: the median net worth for those with a college degree is over 11 times higher than the median net worth of those without a high school diploma.

Average net worth by family structure

The family structure statistics for net worth show a positive effect for couples, likely due to their ability to share expenses, savings and investments. Even couples who have to provide for dependents have a higher average net worth than single people with no children.

That said, the group with the highest average net worth is couples without children, who have an average net worth more than twice as large as single people without children.

Average net worth by housing status

Those who purchase a home have a much higher average net worth, as the value of a house contributes significantly to a person’s net worth.

Many people see buying a home as an investment, and these numbers show why. Being a homeowner makes a person’s net worth increase by over 1,000 percent.

Average net worth by race or ethnicity

The United States strives for equality, but the average net worth by race or ethnicity shows that there is still a lot of work to do. The average net worth of white Americans is almost six times higher than that of Hispanic or Latino Americans and seven times higher than African Americans.

According to The Center for American Progress, the primary contributing factor is generational wealth.

Why your net worth matters

Your net worth is a good way to see how you’re doing financially in the present as well as how well you’re prepared for the future. An individual’s net worth includes savings and retirement funds, like a 401(k), as well as any investments like stocks or bonds that you own. When you have a higher net worth, you’ll be able to retire comfortably, and if you’re a parent, you’re more able to leave your children with some of your assets.

How is net worth calculated?

In short, your net worth is what you own minus what you owe. You’ll typically hear people say your assets (what you own) minus your liabilities (what you owe).

Assets include money in your bank accounts or investments, as well as the value of your property, like a home or a car. Your liabilities may include credit card balances, loans or a mortgage. You have a positive net worth if you have more assets than debts, and you have a negative net worth if your debts outnumber your assets.

Based on your net worth, you can also figure out your social class.

How to increase your net worth

There are a variety of ways to increase your net worth, one being to improve your financial literacy. Many Americans say their parents didn’t educate them about credit and other aspects of financial literacy, so learning about building credit, saving and investing can help set you up for success financially.

Here, we’ve broken down some other ways to increase your net worth by age group. There are different strategies that benefit individuals at different times in their lives, so we’ve included tailored tips by age below.

20 to 30 years old

• Start saving and investing.
• Use a retirement calculator to start planning.

30 to 40 years old

• Manage your spending habits.
• Plan for big events like marriage, children and buying a home.
• Know what affects your credit score and begin improving it.

40 to 50 years old

• Plan on buying a home if you didn’t in your 30s.
• Beware “lifestyle creep,” which is when you gradually spend more without realizing it.
• Automate your savings and investing.

50 to 70 years old

• Begin more seriously preparing for retirement.
• Use the investment strategy recommended by retirement expert Daniel Kurt.

70 and older

• Now that you’re retired, you can worry less about growing your net worth.
• Set up a monthly schedule for withdrawing from your retirement fund for living expenses and enjoying your retirement.

What many people don’t realize is that poor credit can make building a person’s net worth a lot more difficult. Bad credit costs you money that you could be saving or investing because you’re paying higher interest rates, fees and down payments. Sometimes, poor credit happens due to mistakes that you made when you were younger, but it can also be due to errors on your credit report.

Whether you need help rebuilding your credit or errors on your credit report, Lexington Law is here for you. We have a team of who can work with you to challenge errors, and we also offer other financial tools that may benefit you. To learn more about how we can help, get your free credit assessment today.

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