Wealth · United States and Canada

Wealth: the shape of the distribution

The mean and the median are the starting point; the shape of the distribution explains why they differ: how skewed it is, how concentrated, how heavy its tail. Each slide makes one point with one chart, and every number comes from the published data. Use the arrows, swipe, or the ← → keys; terms with a dotted underline are defined below.

1 / 12 Mean and median

US family net worth: a mean of $1.24 million, a median of $215,900

In a symmetric distribution the mean and the median coincide. For American family wealth the mean is 5.8× the median, the mark of a strongly right-skewed distribution: a minority of very large values raises the mean, while the median, the family in the middle, is unaffected by them.

Medianthe family in the middle
$215,900
Meantotal ÷ number of families
$1.24 million

Net worth is everything a family owns, from homes and retirement accounts to businesses, minus everything it owes.

Families, 2025, in 2025 dollars. Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2025, Table 2.

2 / 12 Histogram

The most common range is $178k to $316k; 8.6% of families have zero or less

A histogram of family net worth on a log scale, where each bar covers the same multiple of dollars. The tallest bar, the mode, holds 12.3% of families. To the left, 8.6% of families have zero or negative net worth (8.1% owe more than they own). To the right the bars thin out over two more orders of magnitude: a heavy tail.

Share of US families by net worth, 2025, log scale0%5%10%Zero or negative: 8.6% of families≤ $0Above $0 and below $1k: 2.9% of families< $1k$1k to $2k: 1.1% of families$2k to $3k: 1.1% of families$3k to $6k: 1.7% of families$6k to $10k: 3.0% of families$10k to $18k: 3.6% of families$18k to $32k: 3.8% of families$32k to $56k: 4.3% of families$56k to $100k: 7.2% of families$100k to $178k: 8.5% of families$178k to $316k: 12.3% of families$316k to $562k: 10.5% of families$562k to $1m: 9.7% of families$1m to $1.8m: 8.2% of families$1.8m to $3.2m: 5.5% of families$3.2m to $5.6m: 3.5% of families$5.6m to $10m: 2.3% of families$10m to $18m: 1.1% of families$18m to $32m: 0.5% of families$32m to $56m: 0.2% of families$56m to $100m: 0.1% of families$10k$100k$1m$10m$100mMedian $216kMean $1.2mShare of US families by net worth, 2025, log scale0%5%10%Zero or negative: 8.6% of families≤0Above $0 and below $1k: 2.9% of families<1k$1k to $2k: 1.1% of families$2k to $3k: 1.1% of families$3k to $6k: 1.7% of families$6k to $10k: 3.0% of families$10k to $18k: 3.6% of families$18k to $32k: 3.8% of families$32k to $56k: 4.3% of families$56k to $100k: 7.2% of families$100k to $178k: 8.5% of families$178k to $316k: 12.3% of families$316k to $562k: 10.5% of families$562k to $1m: 9.7% of families$1m to $1.8m: 8.2% of families$1.8m to $3.2m: 5.5% of families$3.2m to $5.6m: 3.5% of families$5.6m to $10m: 2.3% of families$10m to $18m: 1.1% of families$18m to $32m: 0.5% of families$32m to $56m: 0.2% of families$56m to $100m: 0.1% of families$10k$100k$1m$10m$100mMedian $216kMean $1.2m

Quartile skewness is 0.52 for wealth, on a scale where 0 is symmetric and 1 the maximum: the upper quarter of families spreads across a far wider range than the lower quarter. For income in the same survey it is 0.26.

SCF 2025 public data; each statistic computed on the five implicates and averaged. Each bar spans a factor of 1.78 (a quarter of a power of ten). The public data's mean is $1.23 million, slightly below the $1.24 million from the Federal Reserve's internal data.

3 / 12 Pen's parade

The mean is not reached until the 82nd percentile

Line every family up from least to most wealthy and draw each one's net worth: Pen's parade. The line stays low for most of the way and rises steeply at the end. 82% of families have less than the mean.

US family net worth at each percentile, 2025$0$5m$10m$15mP1P10P25P50P75P90P99Mean $1.2m: reached at P82Median $216kP90 $2.6mP99 $16mPercentile 1: $-71kPercentile 5: $-9kPercentile 10: $225Percentile 15: $5kPercentile 20: $13kPercentile 25: $28kPercentile 30: $55kPercentile 35: $82kPercentile 40: $121kPercentile 45: $165kPercentile 50: $216kPercentile 55: $273kPercentile 60: $346kPercentile 65: $448kPercentile 70: $597kPercentile 75: $812kPercentile 80: $1.1mPercentile 85: $1.5mPercentile 90: $2.6mPercentile 95: $4.9mPercentile 99: $16mUS family net worth at each percentile, 2025$0$5m$10m$15mP1P10P25P50P75P90P99Mean $1.2m (P82)Median $216kP99 $16mPercentile 1: $-71kPercentile 5: $-9kPercentile 10: $225Percentile 15: $5kPercentile 20: $13kPercentile 25: $28kPercentile 30: $55kPercentile 35: $82kPercentile 40: $121kPercentile 45: $165kPercentile 50: $216kPercentile 55: $273kPercentile 60: $346kPercentile 65: $448kPercentile 70: $597kPercentile 75: $812kPercentile 80: $1.1mPercentile 85: $1.5mPercentile 90: $2.6mPercentile 95: $4.9mPercentile 99: $16m

Percentiles describe the parade without its extremes. P90 is $2.55 million, 11.8× the median; P99 is $16.46 million, 76× the median. At the other end P10 is $200, so percentile ratios against the bottom, such as P50 ÷ P10, are too large to be informative for wealth.

SCF 2025 public data, families. The chart stops at P99; the top 1% start at $16.46 million.

4 / 12 Canada

Canadian family net worth: a mean of C$995,900, a median of C$519,700

The same two statistics for Canada, in Canadian dollars. The mean is 1.9× the median, against 5.8× in the United States: the Canadian distribution is right-skewed too, but much less.

Medianthe family in the middle
C$519,700
Meantotal ÷ number of families
C$995,900

The bars use the proportions of the American chart: with the same mean-to-median ratio, the mean bar would reach the right edge. Statistics Canada publishes the distribution of this survey in fifths, so that is the level of detail used for Canada below.

All family units, 2023, in 2023 dollars. Statistics Canada, Survey of Financial Security 2023, table 11-10-0016.

5 / 12 One currency

At purchasing power parity the Canadian median is 2.2× the American; the American mean is higher

Converted to US dollars at purchasing power parity and brought to 2025 prices, the two countries rank in opposite order on the two statistics: the median is higher in Canada ($476k against $216k), the mean in the United States ($1.24m against $912k).

  • United States
  • Canada
MedianCanada, 2023
$476k
MedianUnited States, 2025
$216k
MeanCanada, 2023
$912k
MeanUnited States, 2025
$1.24m

The ranking does not depend on the conversion: at the 2023 market exchange rate the Canadian median is $405k, still 1.9× the American one.

Show the numbers
Median and mean net worth in 2025 US dollars
MedianMeanMean ÷ median
United States, 2025$215,900$1.24 million5.75×
Canada, 2023$476,000$912,2001.92×

Canadian dollars converted at the 2023 PPP of C$1.147 per US dollar (World Bank, via the World Inequality Database), then to 2025 prices with US consumer prices. Canada 2023, the latest survey; United States 2025.

6 / 12 Lorenz curve

Gini coefficient of wealth, measured on fifths: 0.72 in the United States, 0.58 in Canada

A Lorenz curve plots the share of all wealth held by the least wealthy x% of families. Twice the area between it and the line of equality is the Gini coefficient. The full American microdata give a Gini of 0.82. Canada publishes only fifths, and straight lines between five points cut the corners of the curve, so for a like-for-like comparison both countries are measured on fifths: 0.72 against 0.58.

  • United States, full data
  • United States, fifths
  • Canada, fifths
Lorenz curves of family net worth, United States 2025 and Canada 20230%0%25%25%50%50%75%75%100%100%Share of families, least wealthy firstLine of equalityUnited States, fifths: the poorest 0% hold 0.0%United States, fifths: the poorest 20% hold -0.2%United States, fifths: the poorest 40% hold 0.8%United States, fifths: the poorest 60% hold 4.4%United States, fifths: the poorest 80% hold 14.8%United States, fifths: the poorest 100% hold 100.0%Canada, fifths: the poorest 0% hold 0.0%Canada, fifths: the poorest 20% hold 0.2%Canada, fifths: the poorest 40% hold 3.9%Canada, fifths: the poorest 60% hold 14.4%Canada, fifths: the poorest 80% hold 36.5%Canada, fifths: the poorest 100% hold 100.0%● US, full data: Gini 0.82● US, fifths: 0.72● Canada, fifths: 0.58Lorenz curves of family net worth, United States 2025 and Canada 20230%0%25%25%50%50%75%75%100%100%Share of families, least wealthy firstLine of equalityUnited States, fifths: the poorest 0% hold 0.0%United States, fifths: the poorest 20% hold -0.2%United States, fifths: the poorest 40% hold 0.8%United States, fifths: the poorest 60% hold 4.4%United States, fifths: the poorest 80% hold 14.8%United States, fifths: the poorest 100% hold 100.0%Canada, fifths: the poorest 0% hold 0.0%Canada, fifths: the poorest 20% hold 0.2%Canada, fifths: the poorest 40% hold 3.9%Canada, fifths: the poorest 60% hold 14.4%Canada, fifths: the poorest 80% hold 36.5%Canada, fifths: the poorest 100% hold 100.0%

The American curve dips below zero at first because families with negative net worth subtract from the total. The least wealthy 40% of American families hold 0.8% of all wealth; in Canada, 3.9%. Statistics Canada's national-accounts series for Q4 2025 gives a Gini on fifths of 0.60.

Show the numbers
Share of net worth by fifth
Bottom fifthSecondMiddle fifthFourthTop fifth
United States, 2025-0.2%0.9%3.6%10.4%85.2%
Canada, SFS 20230.2%3.6%10.6%22.1%63.5%
Canada, Q4 2025-0.1%3.1%9.8%21.5%65.7%

United States: SCF 2025 public data. Canada: Statistics Canada, table 11-10-0049; national accounts: table 36-10-0660. A Gini computed from fifths is a lower bound for the true value.

7 / 12 Average by fifth

Average wealth is higher in Canada in each of the bottom four fifths, and higher in the United States in the top fifth

The average net worth within each fifth, in 2025 US dollars. The middle fifth averages $482k in Canada and $221k in the United States; the top fifth $5.25m in the United States and $2.90m in Canada.

  • United States, 2025
  • Canada, 2023
Bottom fifthUnited States, 2025
−$10k
Bottom fifthCanada, 2023
$10k
SecondUnited States, 2025
$58k
SecondCanada, 2023
$166k
Middle fifthUnited States, 2025
$221k
Middle fifthCanada, 2023
$482k
FourthUnited States, 2025
$641k
FourthCanada, 2023
$1.01m
Top fifthUnited States, 2025
$5.25m
Top fifthCanada, 2023
$2.90m
Show the numbers
Average net worth by fifth, 2025 US dollars
Bottom fifthSecondMiddle fifthFourthTop fifth
United States, 2025−$9,800$57,500$221,100$640,600$5.25 million
Canada, 2023$10,300$166,200$481,700$1.01 million$2.90 million

United States: share of each fifth × mean ÷ 0.2, SCF 2025 public data. Canada: average by net worth quintile, SFS 2023 (table 11-10-0049), converted as on slide 5.

8 / 12 Robustness check

Without any employer pension, the Canadian middle fifth still averages more

The two surveys define wealth slightly differently. Statistics Canada includes employer pension plans, valued at what a member would receive on leaving; the American survey includes workplace accounts such as 401(k)s but not defined-benefit pensions. Removing every employer pension from the Canadian figures removes more than the difference, which makes this a conservative test.

Canadaas published
$482k
Canadawithout any employer pension
$398k
United Statesas published
$221k

The ratio falls from 2.2× to 1.8×. From the other side, the Federal Reserve's distributional accounts, which do include defined-benefit pensions, give the bottom half of American households 2.3% of all wealth in 2026 Q2, against 2.1% in the survey.

Canada: SFS 2023 by net worth quintile; employer pensions are 15% of Canadian net worth. United States: SCF 2025 public data; Federal Reserve, Distributional Financial Accounts.

9 / 12 The tail

Above the 90th percentile, average wealth is 3.5× the threshold; for income, 2.6×

The inverted Pareto coefficient measures how heavy a tail is: the average of everyone above a percentile, divided by that percentile. Families above P90 in wealth hold on average 3.5× the $2.55 million it takes to enter that group. In the same survey, families above P90 in income receive 2.6× their threshold.

  • Wealth
  • Income
Wealthabove P90
3.48×
Incomeabove P90
2.62×
Wealthabove P99
2.34×
Incomeabove P99
2.21×

The survey leaves out the 400 wealthiest Americans by design, and the very top of any survey is thinly sampled, so the coefficient above P99 is the less reliable of the two. Income tails in the United States and Canada, from tax data, are on the Income page.

SCF 2025 public data, families; income is for 2024.

10 / 12 Summary statistics

On every measure, wealth is more concentrated than income

The statistics from this story side by side. Wealth and income for the United States come from the same survey of the same families; Canadian wealth is measured on the published fifths.

  • US wealth
  • Canada wealth
  • US income
US wealthGini on fifths
0.72
Canada wealthGini on fifths
0.58
US incomeGini on fifths
0.50
StatisticUS wealthUS incomeCanada wealth
Mean ÷ median5.751.771.92
Gini, full data0.820.56–
Gini, on fifths0.720.500.58
Share of top fifth85.2%60.2%63.5%
Share of bottom two fifths0.8%10.0%3.9%
Palma ratio934.6–
P90 ÷ P5011.83.1–
Quartile skewness0.520.26–
Mean reached atP82P74–

US: SCF 2025 public data, families; wealth in 2025, income in 2024. Canada: SFS 2023, which publishes wealth in fifths only, so measures that need finer detail are marked –. The Palma ratio for US wealth is large because the bottom 40% hold under 1%.

11 / 12 Over time

Mean ÷ median: higher in the United States than in 1989, lower in Canada than in 1999

The ratio of mean to median in every survey year. In the United States it went from 4.0 in 1989 to 5.8 in 2025, peaking at 7.1 in 2016. In Canada it went from 2.3 in 1999 to 1.9 in 2023, most of the fall between 2019 and 2023, when the median rose faster than the mean. The income ratios are shown for comparison.

  • United States, wealth
  • Canada, wealth
  • United States, income
  • Canada, income
Mean divided by median, wealth and income, United States and Canada1.0×2.0×3.0×4.0×5.0×6.0×7.0×8.0×1990200020102020United States, wealth, 1989: 4.0×United States, wealth, 1992: 3.8×United States, wealth, 1995: 3.7×United States, wealth, 1998: 3.9×United States, wealth, 2001: 4.6×United States, wealth, 2004: 4.8×United States, wealth, 2007: 4.6×United States, wealth, 2010: 6.5×United States, wealth, 2013: 6.6×United States, wealth, 2016: 7.1×United States, wealth, 2019: 6.2×United States, wealth, 2022: 5.5×United States, wealth, 2025: 5.8×Canada, wealth, 1999: 2.3×Canada, wealth, 2005: 2.5×Canada, wealth, 2012: 2.3×Canada, wealth, 2016: 2.3×Canada, wealth, 2019: 2.2×Canada, wealth, 2023: 1.9×United States, income, 1989: 1.6×United States, income, 1992: 1.5×United States, income, 1995: 1.5×United States, income, 1998: 1.6×United States, income, 2001: 1.7×United States, income, 2004: 1.6×United States, income, 2007: 1.8×United States, income, 2010: 1.7×United States, income, 2013: 1.9×United States, income, 2016: 2.0×United States, income, 2019: 1.8×United States, income, 2022: 2.0×United States, income, 2025: 1.8×Canada, income, 1989: 1.2×Canada, income, 1990: 1.2×Canada, income, 1991: 1.2×Canada, income, 1992: 1.2×Canada, income, 1993: 1.2×Canada, income, 1994: 1.2×Canada, income, 1995: 1.2×Canada, income, 1996: 1.2×Canada, income, 1997: 1.3×Canada, income, 1998: 1.3×Canada, income, 1999: 1.3×Canada, income, 2000: 1.3×Canada, income, 2001: 1.3×Canada, income, 2002: 1.3×Canada, income, 2003: 1.3×Canada, income, 2004: 1.3×Canada, income, 2005: 1.3×Canada, income, 2006: 1.3×Canada, income, 2007: 1.3×Canada, income, 2008: 1.3×Canada, income, 2009: 1.3×Canada, income, 2010: 1.3×Canada, income, 2011: 1.3×Canada, income, 2012: 1.3×Canada, income, 2013: 1.3×Canada, income, 2014: 1.3×Canada, income, 2015: 1.3×Canada, income, 2016: 1.3×Canada, income, 2017: 1.3×Canada, income, 2018: 1.3×Canada, income, 2019: 1.3×Canada, income, 2020: 1.3×Canada, income, 2021: 1.3×Canada, income, 2022: 1.3×Canada, income, 2023: 1.3×Canada, income, 2024: 1.3×US wealth 5.8×Canada wealth 1.9×US income 1.8×Canada income 1.3×Mean divided by median, wealth and income, United States and Canada1.0×2.0×3.0×4.0×5.0×6.0×7.0×8.0×1990200020102020United States, wealth, 1989: 4.0×United States, wealth, 1992: 3.8×United States, wealth, 1995: 3.7×United States, wealth, 1998: 3.9×United States, wealth, 2001: 4.6×United States, wealth, 2004: 4.8×United States, wealth, 2007: 4.6×United States, wealth, 2010: 6.5×United States, wealth, 2013: 6.6×United States, wealth, 2016: 7.1×United States, wealth, 2019: 6.2×United States, wealth, 2022: 5.5×United States, wealth, 2025: 5.8×Canada, wealth, 1999: 2.3×Canada, wealth, 2005: 2.5×Canada, wealth, 2012: 2.3×Canada, wealth, 2016: 2.3×Canada, wealth, 2019: 2.2×Canada, wealth, 2023: 1.9×United States, income, 1989: 1.6×United States, income, 1992: 1.5×United States, income, 1995: 1.5×United States, income, 1998: 1.6×United States, income, 2001: 1.7×United States, income, 2004: 1.6×United States, income, 2007: 1.8×United States, income, 2010: 1.7×United States, income, 2013: 1.9×United States, income, 2016: 2.0×United States, income, 2019: 1.8×United States, income, 2022: 2.0×United States, income, 2025: 1.8×Canada, income, 1989: 1.2×Canada, income, 1990: 1.2×Canada, income, 1991: 1.2×Canada, income, 1992: 1.2×Canada, income, 1993: 1.2×Canada, income, 1994: 1.2×Canada, income, 1995: 1.2×Canada, income, 1996: 1.2×Canada, income, 1997: 1.3×Canada, income, 1998: 1.3×Canada, income, 1999: 1.3×Canada, income, 2000: 1.3×Canada, income, 2001: 1.3×Canada, income, 2002: 1.3×Canada, income, 2003: 1.3×Canada, income, 2004: 1.3×Canada, income, 2005: 1.3×Canada, income, 2006: 1.3×Canada, income, 2007: 1.3×Canada, income, 2008: 1.3×Canada, income, 2009: 1.3×Canada, income, 2010: 1.3×Canada, income, 2011: 1.3×Canada, income, 2012: 1.3×Canada, income, 2013: 1.3×Canada, income, 2014: 1.3×Canada, income, 2015: 1.3×Canada, income, 2016: 1.3×Canada, income, 2017: 1.3×Canada, income, 2018: 1.3×Canada, income, 2019: 1.3×Canada, income, 2020: 1.3×Canada, income, 2021: 1.3×Canada, income, 2022: 1.3×Canada, income, 2023: 1.3×Canada, income, 2024: 1.3×US wealth 5.8×Canada wealth 1.9×US income 1.8×Canada income 1.3×
Show the numbers
Mean divided by median net worth by survey year
Survey yearUnited StatesCanada
19893.96–
19923.77–
19953.67–
19983.94–
1999–2.33
20014.59–
20044.83–
2005–2.46
20074.62–
20106.45–
2012–2.27
20136.58–
20167.112.27
20196.152.24
20225.51–
2023–1.92
20255.75–

SCF surveys 1989–2025, every three years, from the Bulletin tables; SFS surveys 1999, 2005, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2023.

12 / 12 Limits

What these statistics can and cannot show

  • Coverage of the top. The American survey adds a sample of wealthy families drawn from tax records; Statistics Canada says its sample is too small to represent families with very high wealth. Canada's mean, top shares and Gini are therefore likely understated. Surveys like these measure the middle of a distribution far better than its extreme top.
  • Fifths understate concentration. A Gini from five points is a lower bound. The comparisons on this page use the same five points for both countries.
  • Years and units. United States 2025, families; Canada 2023, family units, with Q4 2025 household shares from the national accounts.
  • Prices. Net worth is measured at market prices, so it moves with house and share prices. Purchasing power parity compares the price of the whole economy's output, not of housing or financial assets.
  • Families, not people. Each family counts once, whatever its size or age.
1 of 12: US family net worth: a mean of $1.24 million, a median of $215,900

Terms used on this page

Mean
The total divided by the number of units: the average. One very large value can move it a long way.
Median (P50)
The middle value: half of all units have less, half have more. Very large values at the top do not move it.
Right skew
A distribution with a long tail of large values to the right. The mean lies above the median, and further above it the longer the tail.
Histogram
How many units fall into each range of values. The tallest bar marks the most common range, the mode.
Log scale
An axis on which each step multiplies the value by the same factor, so $1k to $10k takes the same space as $100k to $1m.
Mode
The most common value or range of values.
Heavy tail
A tail in which very large values are much more common than a bell curve would allow.
Quartile skewness
(P75 + P25 − 2 × P50) ÷ (P75 − P25), also called Bowley skewness. 0 for a symmetric distribution, up to 1 when the upper half is far more spread out than the lower. It uses only the middle half of the data, so the extreme tail does not drive it.
Pen's parade
Every unit lined up from lowest to highest, with the height of each showing its value: the quantile function drawn as a picture. Named after the economist Jan Pen, who described it in 1971.
Percentile (P10, P90, …)
The value below which a given share of units fall. P90 is the value that 90% are below and 10% above.
Percentile ratio
One percentile divided by another, such as P90 ÷ P50: how far the top of the distribution sits from the middle, ignoring the extremes.
Lorenz curve
The share of the total held by the bottom x% of units, for every x. If everyone held the same, it would follow the diagonal line of equality; the further it sags below, the more concentrated the total.
Gini coefficient
Twice the area between the line of equality and the Lorenz curve. 0 when everyone holds the same, 1 when one unit holds everything. Values can exceed 1 when some hold negative amounts.
Quintiles (fifths)
The population split into five equal groups by value: the bottom fifth to the top fifth.
Palma ratio
The share held by the top 10% divided by the share held by the bottom 40%.
Inverted Pareto coefficient
The average value of everyone above a percentile, divided by that percentile. A value of 2 at P99 means the top 1% hold on average twice the amount it takes to enter the top 1%. The higher it is, the heavier the tail. In a Pareto distribution it is the same at every percentile.
Purchasing power parity
An exchange rate that equalises what a currency buys across countries, rather than what it trades for in markets.
Implicates
The Survey of Consumer Finances fills in missing answers five separate times. Each statistic is computed on all five versions and averaged, as the Federal Reserve does.

Sources and method

United States: Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2025. Medians, means and the history come from the Bulletin tables, which use the Federal Reserve's internal data; distributions come from the public data, which the Fed alters slightly to protect respondents (its mean is $1.23 million against $1.24 million in the Bulletin). Canada: Survey of Financial Security 2023 (tables 11-10-0016 and 11-10-0049) and the Distributions of Household Economic Accounts; income from the Canadian Income Survey. Purchasing power parities from the World Bank via the World Inequality Database. Canadian figures are converted at the PPP of their own year and brought to 2025 prices with the SCF's price change from 2022 to 2025, adjusted by CPI-U from 2022 to the Canadian survey year.

Every figure on this page is computed by research/wealth-income/build.py from the agencies' published files and stored in lib/wealth-income.json. Data built 2026-10-21. For wealth measured in years of pay since 1970, see the research brief The Earning–Owning Gap.