For millions of families in the US, wealth has inched up modestly in the last few years, but for older Americans, it’s surged.
People 75 and older are now the richest group in the US, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. The survey, published every three years, found that the median family net worth in the US, adjusted for inflation, rose 2% to $215,900 between 2022 and 2025.
But among the 75 and older cohort, their median net worth rose 37% to $505,000, compared with $367,000 in 2022.
Families younger than 35, meanwhile, saw their median net worth dive 23% to $33,000.
As Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, told Yahoo Finance: “The baby boomers have arrived!”
“The oldest of the large boomer generation has aged into the 75 and older age group, and the surging stock market has benefited older Americans more because they have more of their wealth in retirement accounts,” he said.
Wealth inequality on display
This isn’t startling news given long-held patterns of wealth inequality in America.
“On balance, wealth inequality appears little changed since 2022,” according to the Fed research. “These changes in wealth largely reinforced existing patterns of wealth inequality by family characteristics.”
Groups that typically have less wealth — young people, renters, and those without a high school diploma — saw their wealth slip in the years following the pandemic.
Families that already had more wealth, whether thanks to age or higher income, saw some of the largest gains.
One reason: Higher-income families tend to save more, which in turn helps their wealth grow even more.
“Net worth tends to increase and then plateau (or decline) over the life cycle, reflecting changes in savings behavior that occur with age as individuals save for retirement throughout their working career and then spend those savings in retirement,” per the report.
Importantly, a variety of other factors, aside from age, come into play, including education, race, and whether you’ve built up equity in a home.
For example, when the head of a family had a college degree, they had 1.9 times the median income of those with some college and almost 3 times the median net worth.
Stocks and home values lift Americans’ net worth
It makes sense that many older baby boomers who bought homes and stocks decades ago have seen their assets take off in value.
Between the start of 2022 and the end of 2025, the S&P 500 gained roughly 52.41% on a total return basis (including reinvested dividends).
For families owning a home, the median net housing value (home value minus debt) rose from $218,900 in 2022 to $230,000 in 2025, according to the Federal Reserve report.
