Income dispersion shrank a bit in the three years through 2025, but that did not translate into much progress on wealth. Lower-income households logged modest pay gains, while those at the top saw income declines tied to more volatile sources like capital gains and business income.
The triennial Survey of Consumer Finances still shows a wide chasm in assets. Median net worth edged up by 2 percent to $215,900, and the average climbed 7 percent to $1,241,500. The imbalance shows up in the extremes: on average, the top 10% by income control over 50 times as much wealth as the bottom 20%. Economists treat this survey as the most comprehensive read on U.S. household finances, spanning assets, income, debt, and financial security.
These results help square a circle: stocks have notched fresh highs in recent years while some gauges of consumer sentiment hover near record lows. One reason is simple - wealthier families own far more equities.
Between 2022 and 2025, the share of U.S. families with stock exposure slipped to 56% from 58%, even as the S&P 500 surged by nearly 80%. The Fed notes that households in the lower half of the income distribution were responsible for nearly all of that retreat from the market.
Income and wealth gaps move on very different timelines. Market Briefs covers that distinction free every weekday.
The picture was uneven across racial and ethnic groups. On average, incomes fell for Black families and for Asian families.
The Black and White wealth divide widened slightly. In 2025, Black Americans held one-seventh the wealth of White Americans - a ratio largely unchanged from 2010. The median Black family's wealth dropped 25%.
Debt pressures also surfaced. The share of families with any debt held steady at 77%, but a key strain indicator rose: 8.6% of households had payment-to-income ratios above 40%, the highest since 2010.
This looks like an economy past the pandemic savings bump. Many households have drawn down cash buffers and leaned more on borrowing to keep spending, which has stayed resilient even as inflation has outpaced wage growth. Market gains are real, but they are not broadly shared, especially with fewer lower- and middle-income families in the market and more carrying heavy debt loads. That mix can shape how far the next rally reaches into everyday wallets.
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