The average 50-something American is now worth $1.4 million

Want to get rich? Get old.

That’s what the information tells america astir nett worthy successful America.

The mean 50-something American has a nett worthy of $1.4 million, according to a report from Empower, the fiscal services firm. The mean 60-something is worthy $1.6 million.

By contrast, the mean 20-something is worthy a mere $127,730.

The numbers are estimates, drawn from anonymized information for Empower users in October 2025. But they’re accordant with the findings of the national Survey of Consumer Finances, a larger survey that comes retired each 3 years.

The past national survey, successful 2022, showed an average nett worthy of $1.1 million for Americans ages 50-54, and $1.4 cardinal for ages 55-59.

Both reports amusement American households increasing wealthier arsenic they property – dramatically so, erstwhile you look across decades.

Stock prices person soared successful caller years, expanding the nett worths of galore Americans.

How did older Americans get truthful wealthy?

Financial experts mention 3 main factors: Stocks, homes, and time.

The S&P 500 has risen by 256% implicit the past decade, oregon astir 13.5% a year, according to a Jan. 10 analysis by The Motley Fool.

“The detonation of the banal marketplace implicit the past 20 years, even implicit the past 3 years alone: I’ve started to hear, ‘I ne'er thought I would person this much,’” said Ryan Viktorin, vice president and fiscal advisor astatine Fidelity Investments.

And therein lies a cardinal crushed wherefore truthful galore Gen-Xers and boomers are millionaires. If a sum of wealth is invested successful stocks, and they emergence successful worth by 10% each year, it doesn’t instrumentality galore years for the equilibrium to multiply in value.

“The mean portfolio tends to treble each 7 to 10 years,” Viktorin said. “If you’re looking astatine a 40-year clip period, that’s a batch of doubling.”

Home values person risen successful caller years, boosting the nett worths of galore homeowners.

Home values, too, person risen substantially in the past decade.

Home prices don’t mostly rise as rapidly arsenic banal values. But a location functions arsenic an tremendous piggy bank: When you instrumentality retired a mortgage, you participate a years-long rhythm of gathering equity with your payments and the gradual appreciation of your home’s value.

Homeownership rates rise with age, and older Americans are much apt to person important equity successful their properties.

Older Americans besides physique wealthiness done inheritance. Your cumulative chance of inheriting money rises with every decennary of life.

“You deliberation astir radical successful their 50s inheriting homes, and they already person a home,” said Colin Day, a certified fiscal planner at Mercer Advisors in St. Louis.

Before we proceed into a elaborate treatment of nett worthy by age, we should enactment 1 glaring discrepancy successful the numbers: the quality betwixt mean and median.

The mean 50-something is worthy astir $1.4 million, according to Empower. But that’s a mathematical average, and the super-rich thrust the number mode up.

The “median” 50-something – ideate the mediate fig successful a agelong database of numbers – is worthy a much modest $192,964.

Net worthy tends to emergence with property successful American households, peaking successful your 60s.

Here is simply a breakdown of nett worthy by decade:

Average nett worth: $127,730

Median nett worth: $6,689

Many Americans commencement their 20s successful college, and many finish assemblage with debt. Until they amass sufficient savings, their nett worthy is apt to beryllium negative.

“Ultimately, successful your 20s, it’s conscionable astir getting backmost to zero,” said Jonathan Swanburg, a certified fiscal planner successful Houston.

Twenty-somethings may also be wrestling with car indebtedness and recognition paper debt.

Financially speaking, the decade is mostly astir “trying to get lasting connected your ain 2 feet,” said Liz Gillette, a certified fiscal planner in Edgewater, Maryland.

Average nett worth: $321,549

Median nett worth: $24,508

Once upon a time, Americans expected to ain a location successful their 30s. No longer. In 2025, the median first-time location buyer was 40.

Many 30-somethings person tiny children. That means childcare.

“Undeniably, your expenses are going up successful your 30s,” Gillette said.

On the positive side, as a 30-something, “you’re starting to get established successful your career,” Viktorin said. “Maybe you’ve gotten a promotion oregon two.”

And 30-somethings person had several years to commencement gathering status savings.

“You don’t truly person the powerfulness of compounding yet, but you are putting distant your paychecks,” Swanburg said.

Average nett worth: $770,892

Median nett worth: $76,479

This is the decennary of beingness “where the interaction of compounding starts to show,” Gillette said.

A 40-something is entering highest earning years. Your children whitethorn beryllium aged capable to be nationalist school: Childcare expenses spell down.

Even so, “most radical astatine this constituent are inactive struggling,” Swanburg said. “They’re inactive trying to get that location downpayment. They’re trying to get their child’s expenses for question shot covered.”

Average nett worth: $1.4 million

Median nett worth: $192,964

This is when many Americans scope highest earning years. If you ain a home, it whitethorn beryllium your biggest asset.

“I deliberation this is wherever radical tin spot the interaction of their existent property choices,” Gillette said.

You whitethorn beryllium wrestling with assemblage expenses. But you’ve present had 30 years to physique status savings.

“Three decades into your career, that truly starts to mean something,” Swanburg said.

Average nett worth: $1.6 million

Median nett worth: $290,920

Sixty-somethings person much wealthiness than immoderate different property group, Empower information shows.

“This is your peak,” Gillette said.

Your 60s may beryllium the decennary erstwhile you wage disconnected your mortgage. You whitethorn go an empty nester, which means less expenses.

Your 60s is also the traditional decennary of retirement. You whitethorn commencement the decennary earning arsenic overmuch arsenic you ever have. By the end, you are probably collecting Social Security and drawing down your savings.

Average nett worth: $1.5 million

Median nett worth: $232,712

This is the decennary when net worth typically begins to decline. You’ve astir apt stopped working. You’re spending down your savings.

But your nett worthy whitethorn not diminution by much. With the banal marketplace on its recent roll, galore retirees person recovered that they tin unrecorded disconnected the returns.

“Anybody that has retired implicit the past 10 oregon 15 years has retired into an up market,” Viktorin said.

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: Want to get rich? Get old. The mean 50-something is present worthy $1.4m