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If you’re in your 20s, you may have just started your career with an entry-level salary and you may have a significant amount of debt if you attended college. You might not yet own a house or anything else of considerable financial value. The 20s are a time when many people have the tightest finances of their lives. It’s also typically when you start to build a financial foundation for the rest of your life.
Keen to know how your financial situation compares to other people your age? Forget income. For a more complete analysis, it’s better to look at net worth, the metric we use in this article.
Key Takeaways
- People in their 20s tend to have a lower net worth as they often earn smaller salaries, don’t own many valuable assets, and may owe lots of money.
- The average net worth for people in their 20s is $113,084, and the median is $7,638, according to a 2024 analysis by Empower.
- The best way to build net worth is to spend wisely, pay off debt, and start investing as soon as possible.
Average Net Worth of Americans in Their 20s
Empower, a financial services company, collected data from American users of its retirement-planning dashboard to determine average and median net worth in November 2024.
| Age by decade | Average net worth | Median net worth |
| 20s | $113,084 | $7,638 |
| 30s | $317,171 | $35,649 |
| 40s | $791,616 | $125,370 |
| 50s | $1,406,887 | $288,263 |
| 60s | $1,703,727 | $439,154 |
| 70s | $1,626,996 | $367,286 |
| 80s | $1,521,375 | $342,552 |
| 90s | $1,292,056 | $293,322 |
The average net worth for people in their 20s is $113,084, and the median net worth for that age group is $7,638, according to Empower’s analysis.
Net worth increases as people approach retirement age, then drops when they stop working. This shows how people accumulate more assets as they progress in their careers and then steadily spend this wealth when they retire.
There’s also a large difference between the average and median readings, reflecting how a few outliers (wealthier people) can skew the average. Consequently, the median figure is more representative of what is typical for this age group.
It’s worth noting that the groups surveyed in this type of report can be relatively small, and the Empower analysis looked specifically at people using its retirement-planning dashboard, a group that is likely to be more focused on saving money and planning for retirement. Therefore, the results might not be representative of the broader U.S. population. As a comparison, the U.S. Federal Reserve also releases net worth data. According to the Fed’s most recent Survey of Consumer Finances in 2022, family median and average net worth by age group were as follows:
| Age | Median net worth | Average net worth |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 35 | $39,000 | $183,500 |
| 35-44 | $135,600 | $549,600 |
| 45-54 | $247,200 | $975,800 |
| 55-64 | $364,500 | $1,566,900 |
| 65-74 | $409,900 | $1,794,600 |
| 75+ | $335,600 | $1,624,100 |
The median net worth for families where the head of household is under 35 is $39,000, while the average net worth is $183,500. These figures are higher than Empower’s. That perhaps isn’t surprising because the Fed survey looks at family net worth, not individual net worth, and it includes people in their early 30s, who are likely to have accumulated more assets and earned higher salaries compared to people in their 20s.
How To Build Up Your Net Worth
Net worth can change throughout a person’s life, depending on what they own and owe, and it tends to increase with age.
People in their 20s who want to build their net worth should start by keeping tabs on spending habits, cutting out unnecessary expenses, and trying to save as much as possible each month. Excess funds can be used to pay down debt, especially high-interest credit card debt, and invest for long-term financial goals. Investing in a 401(k) and taking advantage of an employer match is a great place to start. The earlier you start investing, the more your money will be able to grow.
The Bottom Line
The median net worth for people in their 20s in the U.S. is $7,638, while the average is $113,084, according to an Empower analysis. The way people manage their finances during this phase of their lives plays a significant role in shaping their future financial stability. That’s why most financial experts recommend that people start investing as early as possible, allowing their portfolio to benefit from compounding returns and grow over time.
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