Year of the Data · 2026 edition
A clearer picture
of America’s
money.
What do families earn? What do they own? What do they owe? Explore the big survey behind the answers.
The Federal Reserve’s 2025 survey,
explained in our 2026 publication.
explained in our 2026 publication.
Sponsored by Consumer Magazine
Consumer.info + National Data System
Consumer.info + National Data System
Median family income
$82,200Up 7% · income for 2024Families with high debt payments
8.6%Up from 6.5% in 2022Source: Federal Reserve Board, released October 9, 2026 ↗. Dollar figures use 2025 buying power. High debt payments means more than 40% of income. This is an independent Consumer Magazine guide, not the official survey website.
Two things can be true
More wealth.
More payment pressure.
A family can own more and still have tough bills to pay. Use the buttons to see the different sides of the story.
Compare the survey years
Median family net worth
The middle family's assets minus debts.
+2%All SCF families
Source: Federal Reserve Board ↗Table 2, report page 12 (PDF page 18)
A big survey.
Plain answers. Easy words. Real examples. Source links beside the figures. Try it. Change it. Understand it.
Plain answers. Easy words. Real examples. Source links beside the figures. Try it. Change it. Understand it.
Meet the survey
Six questions.
One fuller picture.
The short answer
The Federal Reserve leads. NORC interviews.
The Federal Reserve Board sponsors the SCF with the U.S. Treasury. NORC at the University of Chicago conducts the interviews. Consumer Magazine sponsors this independent guide; Consumer.info and NDS explain the evidence.
The survey team collects the facts. We help tell the story.
Check the source ↗Try the idea
A paycheck is only
part of the picture.
Net worth means what you own minus what you owe. Change a number and see how it works.
Try the family money simulator
What changes when
one number moves?
Raise a home's value. Change a debt payment. See why wealth and money left for bills can tell different stories.
For wealth professionals
Teach first. Start a conversation.
Create a branded simulator and services page through the AdvertisingAgency.us campaign.
Explore the $100 one-time campaignTry a made-up family
What is left after the debt?
Change the numbers. Watch the answer change.
What is owned$300,000
Minus what is owed− $190,000
Net worth$110,000
This is value on a balance sheet. It is not all cash you can spend.
This is a teaching example, not a survey response or a financial plan. Your numbers stay in this page and are not saved or sent.
The Money Room
Watch a little.
Understand a lot.
Bring a YouTube video, listen to an MP3, or play an MP4. Pause and learn at your own pace.
News & Ideas
The numbers, explained.
More wealth. The same old bills?
A rise in net worth does not tell us whether monthly payments feel easier.
Debt payments took a bigger bite.
Why 6.5% to 8.6% is a change of 2.1 percentage points.
Home equity is wealth. It is not cash.
Read housing and retirement measures with the right group in mind.
One family. Five versions of the data.
The first rule of reading the public file: rows are not always people.
Read it. Keep it. Share it.
The survey behind
the money story.
Take the 2026 Consumer Magazine presentation with you. Then explore the original Federal Reserve sources behind the numbers.
Original supplied presentation · October 18, 2026. Our source notes explain corrections to its interview count, interview length, and fieldwork timing.
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