The Federal Reserve Board has released the results of its 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial study that tracks what American families own, how they borrow and how they bank. The report compares household finances with the survey’s 2022 results and covers income, wealth, assets, debt and financial vulnerability.
Real median family income rose 7% to $82,200 between the surveys, while real mean income fell 6% to $145,200. The Board said families at the lower ends of the income and net-worth distributions recorded modest increases in median and mean income, while those at the upper ends saw declines.
Real median net worth increased 2% to $215,900, and real mean net worth rose 7% to $1.24 million. Most families across income and net-worth groups experienced increases in median and mean wealth.
Homeownership remained broadly unchanged at 66%. Among homeowners, median net housing value—the value of a home after subtracting debt secured against it—rose to $230,000 from $218,900 in 2022. Retirement plan participation edged up to about 65%, with mean and median balances also rising among families with account-type plans.
Stock-market participation, including direct and indirect holdings, slipped from 58% to 56%. However, among families that owned stocks, median holdings increased 36% to $77,400. The share of families with debt remained around 77%, and median and mean debt balances were unchanged.
The share of families whose debt payments exceeded 40% of income rose from 6.5% in 2022 to 8.6% in 2025, a level last recorded in the 2013 survey.
The survey is conducted for the Federal Reserve by NORC at the University of Chicago. Participants are randomly selected from 119 geographic areas across the United States using sampling procedures intended to represent American families. The Board also released a report, “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025,” and made an interactive chartbook and additional survey data available to the public and researchers.
Sources: Federal Reserve Press Releases.