Families whose reference person was 75 or older had the highest median net worth of any age group in the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, according to the Associated Press: nearly $505,000. That is a group-level median—not the average wealth of older Americans, and not a claim that every person in this age group has that much.
What the 2025 finding says
The AP reported that families with a reference person aged 75 or older had median net worth of nearly $505,000 in 2025, the highest among the age groups reported. The AP also reported that the same group’s median was just over $367,000 in 2022. The precise age-specific 2025 figures cited here come from the AP’s account of the survey, rather than an age-by-age figure independently confirmed here in a Federal Reserve table. Associated Press report
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Federal Reserve’s overall result provides context: median net worth for all families rose 2% in real terms from 2022 to 2025, reaching $215,900. That is an inflation-adjusted change for the overall family population, not the change for the 75-and-older group. Federal Reserve 2025 SCF release
What “wealthiest” means here
The headline refers to the age group with the highest median net worth. Net worth is the value of assets minus debts. A median is the midpoint: half of families in the group have net worth above it and half below it. It is not the arithmetic average, or mean, which can be pulled upward by a small number of very wealthy households.
#1 Best Overall
The survey measures family finances and assigns an age group according to the age of the family’s reference person. So the finding does not mean that every American aged 75 or older has nearly $505,000 in net worth, nor that it describes each older adult’s individual finances. The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances is conducted every three years and covers what families own, how and how much they borrow, and how they bank. The 2025 survey was conducted by NORC using a scientific sample drawn from geographic areas across the United States, intended to represent American families. Federal Reserve SCF overview and data
How the result compares with 2022
The reported ranking changed between the two surveys: in 2022, families with a reference person aged 65–74 had the highest median net worth, while the 75-and-older group ranked first in 2025, according to the AP’s account of the latest results.
The Federal Reserve’s 2022 report gives the 65–74 group’s median as $409,900 and the 75-or-older group’s as $335,600, both in 2022 dollars. These official figures are useful for understanding the 2022 ranking. Do not compare them directly with the AP’s 2025 dollar amounts as though they had the same price basis: the 2022 report explicitly expresses its amounts in 2022 dollars, and the basis for the quoted 2025 age-specific figures is not established here. Federal Reserve report on family finances from 2019 to 2022
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Quick Recap
Rank #3
How to read the age-group ranking
- It is a comparison of medians: “wealthiest” means highest median net worth among the reported age groups, not the greatest combined wealth held by everyone in an age cohort.
- It describes families: The age category follows the family reference person, not necessarily every family member or an individual’s personal balance sheet.
- It is a survey estimate: The SCF is designed to represent U.S. families, but a group median does not predict what any particular household owns or owes.
- Dollar bases matter: The 2022 age-group figures are stated in 2022 dollars; avoid treating them as directly comparable with 2025 amounts without a consistent inflation adjustment.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
