Net Worth Percentile at 35 to 39
Median
$138,588
Half of 35 to 39 year olds have less than this
Average
$501,295
3.6x the median. This is the number most articles quote.
The median at 35 to 39 is $138,588. The average is $501,295. If you have read an article telling you the typical person your age has half a million dollars, this is where that number came from, and it describes almost nobody.
The top quarter of this bracket starts at $389,432. So $500,000 is not typical, it is roughly the top fifth.
The full spread at 35 to 39
| Percentile | Net worth | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 25th | $16,548 | Bottom 25 percent are below |
| 50th | $138,588 | Median, half are below |
| 75th | $389,432 | Top 25 percent start here |
| 90th | $864,340 | Top 10 percent start here |
| 95th | $1,482,170 | Top 5 percent start here |
| 99th | $4,741,320 | Top 1 percent start here |
Excluding home equity, the median for 35 to 39 drops to $43,416. That is the number to compare against if you rent, since the headline figures count equity you cannot spend without moving.
This is where quoting the average becomes actively misleading
The average for this bracket is 3.6 times the median and sits above the 75th percentile. A person told that the average 37 year old has $501,295 will conclude they are far behind unless they are in the top quarter of the country. That is a bad way to make financial decisions and it is what most published figures encourage.
The more useful reading is the shape. Getting from the median to the 75th percentile means roughly tripling, from $138,588 to $389,432. Getting from the 75th to the 90th means more than doubling again, to $864,340. The distance between rungs grows as you climb, which is the single most important thing to understand about wealth percentiles and the reason chasing a percentile target gets harder rather than easier.
Find your own number
A percentile is only useful once you know where you actually stand, and the trend matters far more than the snapshot.
Open the net worth calculatorCommon questions
What percentile is $100,000 at 37?
Slightly below the median, which sits at $138,588 for this bracket. Somewhere around the 40th percentile. That means roughly four in ten people your age have less, which is a considerably less alarming position than any comparison against the average would suggest.
Should I compare to my own age or the whole population?
Your own age, always. Net worth is cumulative, so comparing a 37 year old to the national median across all adults compares them against people who have had thirty more years to accumulate. Age banded percentiles are the only version of this comparison that means anything.
Other age brackets
- 25 to 29 · $31,470
- 30 to 34 · $88,631
- 40 to 44 · $134,382
- 45 to 49 · $213,586
- 50 to 54 · $266,140
- 55 to 59 · $321,074
- 60 to 64 · $392,860
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2022. Values in nominal 2022 US dollars. Net worth means everything owned minus everything owed, including home equity. General information, not financial advice.