The average American’s net worth is $620,654, but that number means little. Here’s the figure that counts

As of 2024, the average American had a net worth of $620,654, according to a recent report on global wealth by UBS. (1) But if that number sounds surprisingly high and disconnected from your lived experience, there’s a reason for that.

Averages are calculated by taking a total amount and dividing it by the number of individuals in a dataset. However, this metric is easily skewed by a few individuals who are complete outliers.

For instance, if you (with the average American net worth) and Elon Musk enter an elevator together, the average net worth on that elevator — at least, at the time of this writing — is about $224 billion. (2)

Your personal net worth may be nowhere close to that, but the fact that there are only two individuals in this scenario means the figure is skewed upwards — and you may know few people within your friend circle or family who have $620,654 in total wealth, despite what the report says.

With this in mind, UBS also tracked another measure that could be closer to reality for everyday Americans: median wealth.

Unlike averages, median calculations are not skewed by a few outliers. Instead of taking total wealth across a country and dividing it by the country’s total population, median wealth is calculated by arranging all adults in either ascending or descending order of net worth and picking the person exactly in the middle for a fairer representation.

In other words, if you have median wealth, then precisely 50% of the country has less than you and 50% has more than you.

As of 2024, median net worth in America is just $124,041, according to UBS. That’s an astonishing five times lower than the average net worth of $620,654.

In fact, by this measure, America is only the 15th wealthiest country in the world, lagging behind Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Italy. By comparison, the U.S. is the second wealthiest country based on average wealth.

This immense gap between average and median wealth is a reflection of America’s exceptionally high wealth inequality.

At the end of 2024, more than two-thirds (67%) of the total household wealth across the country was held by just the top 10% of households, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. (3) Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of households hold just 2.5% of total wealth.

Put simply, you have bragging rights about sharing the same country with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, but their success hasn’t trickled down to you and your family.

Nevertheless, by using some of the same investment techniques of the uber wealthy, you could accumulate more than most Americans.

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If you’re looking to accumulate more money than what the median wealth per adult in America is, you should focus on saving more than the average American and investing in robust assets.

As of August 2025, the personal savings rate was just 4.6%, according to the Federal Reserve. (4) Saving 10% or 15% of your income would enable you to outperform many of your peers.

The next step is to invest this excess savings in the same assets that form the bulk of the wealthiest people’s portfolios. For instance, the vast majority of Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth is derived from his stake in his company, Meta Platforms. His wealth expands as the company continues to grow.

Similarly, investing in a low-cost index fund gives you exposure not just to Meta but also 499 other companies that drive much of the nation’s growth and innovation. The S&P 500 has delivered an annualized 12.35% return over the past 10 years, according to Morningstar. (5)

Investing just $575 a month into this index and assuming a similar growth rate would get you above the $124,041 threshold for median wealth in roughly 10-and-a-half years.

Over the longer term, a consistent savings and investment strategy could also enable you to add other assets to your portfolio, such as real estate. Getting on the property ladder could unlock more wealth building opportunities.

According to the Aspen Institute, there’s already a significant wealth gap between renters and homeowners. The median renter household’s net worth is just $10,400 compared to nearly $400,000 for homeowners. (6)

While solving the nation’s wealth gap is beyond any one person, you can still improve your odds of outpacing your peers and achieving long-term financial stability on a personal level.

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

UBS Global Wealth Management (1); Bloomberg (2); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (3); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4); Morningstar (5); Aspen Institute (6).

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.