AnswerThe top 10% of US households start at about $2,540,000 in net worth, the top 5% at $4,940,000 and the top 1% at $16,270,000.
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2025 (released October 9, 2026), household net worth in 2025 dollars
Net Worth Needed to Be in the Top 1%, 5%, 10% and More
Cutoffs for the top 1% to the top 50% of US households, overall and within each age group. Open a row for who is in that group and how its cutoff changed since 2022.
| Top | All households | Under 35 | 35 to 44 | 45 to 54 | 55 to 64 | 65 to 74 | 75 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | $16.27M | $1.59M | $8.35M | $14.05M | $20.07M | $20.5M | $20.34M |
| 2% | $10.06M | $910K | $5.52M | $9.93M | $14.82M | $13.99M | $15.83M |
| 3% | $7.43M | $689K | $3.99M | $7.83M | $12.26M | $11.04M | $9.19M |
| 5% | $4.94M | $477K | $2.38M | $5.22M | $7.55M | $7.3M | $6.85M |
| 10% | $2.54M | $351K | $1.23M | $2.56M | $3.46M | $3.66M | $4.19M |
| 20% | $1.08M | $214K | $632K | $1.13M | $1.78M | $1.9M | $2.16M |
| 25% | $813K | $145K | $468K | $942K | $1.42M | $1.31M | $1.42M |
| 50% | $216.1K | $33K | $156K | $255K | $411K | $432K | $505K |
Each age column is the cutoff within that age group (for example the top 10% of households aged 45 to 54). The estimates for the top 1% to 3% rest on fewer households and are less precise. The median row (top 50%) is the Federal Reserve's published median.
How the cutoffs moved since 2022
| Top | 2022 survey (2025 dollars) | SCF 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | $14.9M | $16.27M | +9% |
| 2% | $9.2M | $10.06M | +9% |
| 3% | $6.76M | $7.43M | +10% |
| 5% | $4.15M | $4.94M | +19% |
| 10% | $2.12M | $2.54M | +20% |
| 20% | $972K | $1.08M | +12% |
| 25% | $721K | $813K | +13% |
| 50% | $211K | $216.1K | +2% |
The Federal Reserve restates the 2022 survey in 2025 dollars, so the change is after inflation. Survey estimates carry sampling error; the table shows the direction and rough size of the moves, not their cause.
Frequently asked questions
- What net worth is the top 1% in the US?
- About $16,270,000 in the Federal Reserve's SCF 2025. The top 5% starts at $4,940,000 and the top 10% at $2,540,000. The median household has $216,100.
- Does the cutoff depend on age?
- Yes. Net worth builds over a lifetime, so the top 10% of households under 35 start at a small fraction of what the top 10% of households aged 55 to 64 start at. Each row of the table shows the cutoff within every age group.
- Are these numbers precise?
- They are estimates from a sample survey. The further up the distribution, the fewer households each estimate rests on, so the top 1% and 2% cutoffs are less precise than the median. The survey also leaves out the wealthiest people on published rich lists.
See these as pictures in the net worth charts, check a specific amount in the net worth by dollar amount table, or find your own percentile in the calculator.
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.
Not financial advice. Cutoffs are estimates from a sample survey and carry sampling error. Figures are household net worth (assets minus debts) in 2025 dollars from the Federal Reserve SCF 2025, released October 9, 2026. Cutoffs by age and the comparison with 2022 are our own calculations from the public data.