How Does Your Wealth Compare

• Baby boomers have a higher net worth than younger generations.

• That’s perfectly normal, as net worth tends to rise over time as compounding takes effect, earnings rise, and financial burdens ease.

• The key to growing net worth is using debt wisely and investing smartly.

Baby boomers control more than half of all U.S. household wealth—$88.5 trillion in 2025. That works out to $1.6 million per boomer on average. But that masks significant disparities among those born between 1946 and 1964—the median is closer to $370,000.

Boomers entered adulthood during the post–World War II economic expansion, when housing was more affordable. Many either had a guaranteed, employer-funded pension or started investing to take advantage of decades of stock gains. Still, even with these advantages, the median figure can be misleading, since much of this generation’s wealth is locked up in the value of their homes and retirement accounts, not cash that can be spent.

So what does boomer wealth look like, and what can younger generations learn from how it’s built?

Net worth is calculated by tallying up the value of all assets, such as cash, money in savings or investment accounts, home equity, and valuables, then subtracting from that number any liabilities, such as credit card balances, loans, mortgages, medical bills, and taxes.

Net worth provides a snapshot of an individual’s or household’s overall financial health. It won’t tell you whether you can retire comfortably or survive a financial shock.

The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, last conducted in 2022, is the most reliable source for this data. (The next survey is due later this year.)

The Fed breaks net worth down into six age groups: 35 and younger, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and 75 or older. Given that baby boomers range in age from 61 to 80, three of these categories are relevant.

Averages get pulled up by a few ultra-wealthy households. The median, which is the midpoint where half are above and half below, gives you a better sense of where most people stand.

Home equity and retirement accounts are behind much of that wealth. The typical 65-to-74-year-old owns a $320,000 home and has $200,000 in retirement savings.

Nevertheless, many boomers are renting and have little saved. Others face high health care costs, caregiving responsibilities, or live in regions where home values lag far behind coastal cities. A $350,000 house in San Francisco (average home value: $1.2 million) and a $350,000 house in Dayton, Ohio (average home value: about $131,000) represent very different financial realities.

Net worth typically climbs with age, then falls late in life.

Compound interest builds savings, earnings peak, and major expenses like mortgages, and children often disappear.

By their 60s, many boomers own their homes outright and have built up retirement savings. Then the paychecks stop and they start spending down those funds.

The wealthiest boomers built their net worth through property and investing. Three moves matter most.

• Start with your 401(k) match: If your employer offers one, contribute enough to get the full match. It’s an immediate return on your money before the market even gets involved.

• Use debt strategically: Many boomers borrowed to buy homes that gained in value, not to carry credit card balances at 20%-plus interest.

• Invest consistently in low-cost funds: You don’t need to pick stocks to build wealth. A diversified index fund, held for decades, has historically delivered 7% to 10% annual returns after inflation.

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