Inflation-adjusted median family income rose 7% between 2022 and 2025, reaching $82,200, according to a new Federal Reserve survey.
Median family net worth increased 2% to $215,900, while homeowners’ equity and retirement account balances also grew.
More families faced heavy debt payments, with 8.6% reporting payments exceeding 40% of their income, up from 6.5% in 2022.
American families recorded gains in income and wealth between 2022 and 2025, but a growing share devoted a substantial portion of their income to debt payments, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances.
The results, released Oct. 9, offer a mixed picture of household finances: The typical family earned more after accounting for inflation and accumulated slightly more wealth, while some families faced increasingly burdensome payment obligations.
Inflation-adjusted median family income increased 7% to $82,200. The median marks the midpoint, with half of families earning more and half earning less.
Average family income, meanwhile, declined 6% to $145,200. The Fed said families toward the lower ends of the income and wealth distributions experienced modest income increases, while those toward the upper ends saw declines.
Family wealth also increased. Median net worth — assets minus debts — rose 2% after inflation to $215,900. Average net worth climbed 7% to $1.24 million.
The large gap between median and average wealth reflects how families with substantial assets can pull the average well above the amount held by the typical family.
Housing and investments support family wealth
Homeownership remained roughly unchanged, with 66% of families owning their homes in 2025.
Among homeowners, median net housing value increased to $230,000 from $218,900 in 2022. That measure subtracts mortgages and other debt secured by the home from its value.
Retirement plan participation edged higher to about 65%. The measure includes individual retirement accounts, account-based workplace plans and traditional pension plans. Among families with account-based plans, both median and average balances increased.
Stock market participation declined slightly, from 58% of families in 2022 to 56% in 2025. The measure includes stocks held directly and indirectly through investment accounts.
For families that owned stocks, however, median holdings rose 36%, from $56,900 to $77,400.
Debt balances hold steady, but payments weigh more heavily
About 77% of families carried some form of debt, essentially unchanged from 2022. Median and average outstanding debt also remained unchanged.
But those stable balances did not translate into stable payment burdens for every family.
The share of families whose debt payments exceeded 40% of their income rose from 6.5% to 8.6%, returning to a level last seen in the 2013 survey.
That finding highlights the distinction between accumulating wealth and having enough income available each month: A family’s assets can increase while debt payments continue to strain its budget.
The survey, conducted every three years in its current form since 1989, examines family income, assets, borrowing and banking. NORC at the University of Chicago conducts it for the Fed, using scientific sampling across 119 geographic areas, including metropolitan communities and rural counties.