AnswerAt age 27 with $25k income, the median US net worth is $2,000. The 75th percentile is $13,000. You can see where you rank below.
Median: $2,000 · 75th percentile: $13,000
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 2025 data (released Oct 2026), computed from public microdata
Am I behind at age 27 on $25k?
Median net worth for US households age 27 earning $25k is $2,000; top 10% starts at $90,000. Computed from the Federal Reserve's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances.
By 27, a household earning $25,000 or less has usually been working or studying for several years, yet SCF 2025 puts the median net worth in this tier at only $2,000. The bottom quarter holds $0 or less. The group includes graduate students on stipends, long-term service workers, and people balancing health or caregiving limits, and the sample is small.
Your numbers
Peer group: age under 35 · under $25,000Your $2,000 ranks ahead of 50% of US households age under 35 earning under $25,000.
Another $88,000 in net worth would put you in the top 10% for your peer group.
How this number is calculated
We look up your age and income in the Federal Reserve's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances (the most recent SCF, released Oct 2026), then interpolate your position between 25th/50th/75th/90th/99th percentile breakpoints for that age×income cell. The Fed does not publish those cells, so we compute them from its public microdata. Figures are in 2025 USD, and cells with few sampled families are noisy. Households with similar age and income show meaningful net-worth variance — the percentile reflects how your balance sheet compares to theirs, not to the full US population.
What these numbers mean for age 27, $25k
At 27, an income of $25,000 or less usually points to one of a few situations: a long graduate or professional program on a stipend, a service-sector job with few promotion steps, or a stretch after a layoff, illness, or caregiving duty. The median net worth of $2,000 is about 0.1x annual income, roughly a month of earnings. A 27-year-old has had more years than a 25-year-old to build or lose ground, but the surplus left over to invest on this income is small either way. This cell is based on a small sample, so the figures are approximate.
A quarter of households here hold $0 or less. One reason student debt lingers is that income-driven repayment keeps monthly payments low while interest may still accrue. At the top, the 75th percentile is $13,000 and the 90th is $90,000, which usually reflect circumstances rather than saving discipline: no debt thanks to scholarships, a paid-off car, family support, or a small inheritance. The comparison group is all under-35 households, and a 27-year-old sits nearer the middle of that range.
Compounding needs capital to work with. As an illustration, $100 a month for five years at a 7% real return grows to roughly $7,200, a figure between the median of $2,000 and the 75th percentile of $13,000. That is useful progress, but income growth, through a degree, a credential, or a new role, usually moves net worth more than the savings rate does at this level. For reference, all under-35 households have a median of $33,000. This is educational context, not financial advice.
Benchmarks for age 27, $25k
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 2025 (released October 9, 2026); cells computed from public microdata. Figures in 2025 USD. Cells built on fewer than about 100 sampled families are noisy. Your seeded percentile if net worth equals the median for this cell: 50th.
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Frequently asked questions
Why hasn't compounding done more by 27 at this income?
Compounding needs money to compound. After rent and basics, the monthly amount left to invest on this income is often under $100. Even $100 a month for five years at a 7% real return reaches only about $7,200, a figure that sits between the median of $2,000 and the 75th percentile of $13,000.
Are many graduate students in this group at 27?
They often are. Doctoral candidates and others in long training programs commonly live on stipends or part-time pay near this income well into their late twenties. The survey counts all households regardless of student status, so a stipend-funded graduate student and a full-time service worker can appear in the same cell.
Does the survey account for loan forgiveness such as PSLF?
No. It records balances at the time of the survey, not expected forgiveness. A 27-year-old with $80,000 of loans heading toward forgiveness appears with the full debt today, even if net worth looks very different after forgiveness. That can make the bottom percentiles look lower than the long-run picture.
What usually changes between 25 and 27 at this income?
Real life usually brings job tenure, a retirement match that has vested, a slightly smaller loan balance, and a small emergency fund. The survey cannot show this, because ages 25 and 27 are both in the under-35 bracket and share the same figures here, so the page numbers are identical for both ages.
Is still earning $25,000 at 27 a sign of a career problem?
Not necessarily. A third-year PhD student on a stipend is on a different track from someone in hourly work with no clear path upward. Income alone says little about long-term direction. Because many different situations share this tier, the figures describe the group rather than any one person.
What is a reasonable five-year goal from here?
Common milestones are a stable positive net worth, a few months of living expenses in cash, and either finishing a degree or moving into a higher-paying role. If income grows, directing part of each raise to savings builds on that. Goals depend on your debts and circumstances, so this is general education, not advice.
Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between tabulated cells. Figures are in the dollars of each dataset's reference year unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.
Net worth figures come from the Federal Reserve SCF 2025 (2025 dollars). Age medians match the Fed's published tables; the age × income cells are computed from the public microdata, and cells with fewer than about 100 sampled families are noisy. Full methodology.