US Data · 2026
US Net Worth Percentiles — What Percentile Is $1M, $5M or $10M?
The Federal Reserve's household wealth ladder, plus a straight lookup for any amount from $250,000 to $50 million — and how the answer changes with age.
Published 2026-08-30 · Updated 2026-08-30 · Reading time ~6 min
US household net worth percentiles (Survey of Consumer Finances 2022): median $192,900 · top 25% from $658,340 · top 10% from $1.92M · top 5% from $3.78M · top 1% from $13.67M. A $1 million net worth sits around the 82nd percentile; $5 million around the 96th; $10 million around the 98th.
Short answer
The middle American household holds $192,900. The top 10% starts just under $2 million, the top 5% at $3.78M, and the top 1% at $13.67M. So $1 million — the number most people ask about — is around the 82nd percentile: well above typical, nowhere near the top 1%. For your own exact position by age, use the net worth percentile calculator.
US net worth percentiles: the full ladder
Household net worth thresholds — all ages, home equity included. The median is the Fed's published figure; the other thresholds are derived from the same survey's public microdata.
| Percentile | Net worth | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 25th | $27,016 | A quarter of US households hold less than this — many young households and renters sit here. |
| 50th (median) | $192,900 | The middle American household. Half hold more, half less — for most, home equity is the largest slice. |
| 75th | $658,340 | One household in four holds more. Typically a paid-down home plus meaningful retirement accounts. |
| 90th | $1,920,758 | The top 10% starts just under $2 million. |
| 95th | $3,779,600 | The top 5% line — roughly double the top-10% line. |
| 99th | $13,666,778 | The top 1% starts at about $13.7 million. |
Source: Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2022. Percentile thresholds other than the median are derived from the SCF 2022 public microdata (DQYDJ analysis); the Fed publishes the all-families median and mean, not a percentile ladder. Microdata analysis.
What percentile is a $1 million to $50 million net worth?
The direct lookup: pick your amount, read off where it lands among all US households. Figures marked ≈ are estimates between the survey's anchor points.
| Net worth | Percentile | Households above | That's… |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | ≈ 55th | ≈ 45% | ≈ 1 in 2 holds more |
| $500,000 | ≈ 69th | ≈ 31% | ≈ 1 in 3 holds more |
| $750,000 | ≈ 77th | ≈ 23% | ≈ 1 in 4 holds more |
| $1 million | ≈ 82nd | ≈ 18% | ≈ 1 in 6 holds more |
| $1.5 million | ≈ 87th | ≈ 13% | ≈ 1 in 8 holds more |
| $2 million | ≈ 90th | ≈ 10% | ≈ 1 in 10 holds more |
| $3 million | ≈ 93rd | ≈ 7% | ≈ 1 in 14 holds more |
| $4 million | ≈ 95th | ≈ 5% | ≈ 1 in 21 holds more |
| $5 million | ≈ 96th | ≈ 4% | ≈ 1 in 24 holds more |
| $7 million | ≈ 97th | ≈ 3% | ≈ 1 in 32 holds more |
| $10 million | ≈ 98th | ≈ 2% | ≈ 1 in 50 holds more |
| $13.7 million | 99th | 1% | 1 in 100 holds more |
| $15 million | ≈ top 0.9% | ≈ 0.9% | ≈ 1 in 115 holds more |
| $20 million | ≈ top 0.6% | ≈ 0.6% | ≈ 1 in 180 holds more |
| $50 million | ≈ top 0.15% | ≈ 0.15% | ≈ 1 in 700 holds more |
Rows marked ≈ are Richify estimates: log-linear interpolation between the SCF 2022 anchor thresholds, and a Pareto tail (α = 1.5) above the 99th percentile. The anchors themselves are the values to treat as data.
$1 million and $5 million net worth percentile by age
The all-households answer hides a strong age effect: wealth peaks between 65 and 74, so the same dollar amount ranks far higher among younger households. A $1 million net worth is around the top 7% of households under 35 — but only around the top 31% of households aged 65–74.
| Age band | $1 million ranks in the… | $5 million ranks in the… |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | top ~7% | top ~1% |
| 35–44 | top ~13% | top ~2% |
| 45–54 | top ~21% | top ~6% |
| 55–64 | top ~27% | top ~8% |
| 65–74 | top ~31% | top ~8% |
Richify modelled estimates against the SCF 2022 by-age medians — the roughest table on this page, useful for the shape of the age effect rather than precise ranks. Full by-age data: average net worth by age.
How these percentiles are calculated
Three tiers of confidence, stated plainly because most pages on this topic blur them:
- Published: the median ($192,900) and mean ($1,063,700) come straight from the Federal Reserve's SCF 2022 bulletin.
- Microdata-derived: the 25th/75th/90th/95th/99th thresholds are computed from the SCF's public-use microdata. The Fed releases the data but does not publish this ladder itself.
- Modelled (marked ≈): percentiles for round amounts between anchors use log-linear interpolation; above the top-1% line we fit a Pareto tail (α = 1.5), the standard shape for the far right of a wealth distribution. These get less precise as the amount grows.
The SCF is fielded every three years and 2022 is the latest completed survey, so treat this ladder as the last measured baseline: asset prices have risen since, which likely lifts every threshold somewhat. One definitional point worth repeating — this is household net worth including home equity, not individual investable assets.
Find your own percentile
The tables above answer round numbers. Your number probably isn't round. Free tools, no signup.
- Net worth percentile calculator — enter your age and exact net worth for your percentile within your age band.
- Net worth calculator — add up assets and debts properly first if you haven't.
- Average net worth by age — the Fed's median and mean by age band, the companion view to this ladder.
- Top 1% net worth — a closer look at the $13.67M line and what sits above it.
- Top 10% net worth — the $1.92M line by age.
- UK net worth percentiles — the same ladder for Great Britain, from ONS data.
Frequently asked questions
What net worth percentile is $1 million in the US?+
Roughly the 82nd percentile of US households — about 18% of households, or one in six, hold more. That is based on the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances 2022, which puts the median household at $192,900 and the top-10% line at $1,920,758. $1 million is comfortably above the middle but well short of the top 10%. Note this is household net worth including home equity, so a $1M figure that is mostly a paid-off house sits at the same percentile as $1M of investments.
What percentile is a $5 million net worth?+
Approximately the 96th percentile — about 4% of US households, roughly one in 24, hold more. $5 million sits between the SCF 2022 top-5% line ($3.78M) and the top-1% line ($13.67M). By age the picture shifts: $5 million is around the top ~2% of households under 45, but only the top ~8% of households aged 55-74, because wealth peaks late in life.
What net worth puts you in the top 1% in the US?+
About $13.67M (SCF 2022 microdata). The top 10% starts at $1.92M and the top 5% at $3.78M — so the top 1% line is roughly seven times the top-10% line. Above it the distribution stretches even harder: a $20 million household is still only around the top 0.6%, and $50 million around the top 0.15% (modelled Pareto-tail estimates).
What is the median net worth in the US?+
$192,900 per household (Federal Reserve SCF 2022) — half of US households hold more, half less. The mean is far higher at $1,063,700, about 5.5 times the median, because a small number of very wealthy households pulls the average up. When you compare yourself, use the median or the percentile ladder, never the mean.
Do these percentiles include home equity?+
Yes. The SCF measures household net worth: all assets (home, retirement accounts, brokerage, business equity, vehicles, cash) minus all debts (mortgage, loans, cards). For most households in the middle of the distribution, home equity is the single largest component. There is no official Fed ladder that excludes the primary residence; excluding it would push each threshold down and move a renter with $500K of investments up the rankings relative to these figures.
How current are these numbers, and why do they say SCF 2022?+
The Survey of Consumer Finances is the Fed's triennial household wealth survey; 2022 is the most recent completed round (released October 2023) and remains the primary source until the next release. Asset prices have risen since 2022, so today's thresholds are likely somewhat higher across the ladder — treat these as the last measured baseline rather than a live reading. We state the survey year on every figure instead of relabelling old data as current.
