Though hearing the term ‘net worth’ might drum up images of billionaires like Elon Musk or wealthy singers like Taylor Swift, everyone in the world has a net worth — not just the ultra rich.
The median net worth of an individual in the UK is £125,000 when taking the average of all age groups into account, according to the latest available data from the Office for National Statistics (collected between 2018 and 2020 and published in September 2023).
If you calculate the mean average instead, this figure soars to £305,000, as this is skewed by the significant wealth inequality that exists in the UK.
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The wealthiest 10% of individuals in the UK were estimated to hold almost half of the wealth captured in the ONS’ Wealth and Assets Survey, which examined data from 2020 to 2022. Meanwhile, the poorest 10% of the population hold only 0.02% of total wealth in the UK.
Average net worth by age
When looking at net worth, it is useful to not just look at the total average, but instead examine the data divided by age groups.
The net worth of an individual tends to grow as they get older because, over time, people typically accumulate more assets and realise higher gains on their investments.
Furthermore, the size of your pension pot is taken into account when looking at net worth, and those who are older will, by and large, have more in their pension savings as they near retirement.
Below is a table showing the average wealth of an individual in the UK by age group and different types of wealth. Note the data is from 2016-2020.
Age | Pension wealth (£) | Property wealth (£) | Financial wealth (£) | Physical wealth (£) | Total wealth (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 to 34 | 16,728 | 24,741 | 5,360 | 19,253 | 66,081 |
35 to 44 | 63,724 | 80,249 | 24,931 | 26,709 | 195,612 |
45 to 54 | 173,131 | 126,969 | 34,347 | 29,638 | 364,086 |
55 to 64 | 305,689 | 172,032 | 62,127 | 35,190 | 575,038 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, Wealth and Assets Survey 2016 - 2020
Average household net worth by region
There is a large disparity in the average net worth of households across the different regions of Britain according to the ONS’ Wealth and Assets survey.
While median household wealth in the country as a whole was £293,700, according to data collected between 2020 and 2022, there is a large variance between regions.
The largest of these disparities can be seen between the average household net worth of those in the South East (£489,800) and those in the North East (£179,900).
Below is a table showing the median household wealth of different regions in the UK:
Region | Median Household Wealth |
|---|---|
North East | 179,900 |
North West | 222,400 |
Yorkshire & the Humber | 245,600 |
East Midlands | 261,000 |
West Midlands | 260,800 |
East of England | 400,700 |
London | 244,800 |
South East | 489,800 |
South West | 347,700 |
Wales | 266,900 |
Scotland | 239,500 |
Source: ONS Wealth and Assets Survey 2020 - 2022
The country-wide median household wealth is shown below:
Age | Median household wealth (£) |
|---|---|
16 to 24 | 15,200 |
25 to 34 | 109,800 |
35 to 44 | 209,600 |
45 to 54 | 301,900 |
55 to 64 | 496,500 |
65 to 74 | 502,500 |
75 and above | 373,100 |
Source: ONS Wealth and Assets Survey 2020 - 2022
How is net worth calculated?
Net worth is calculated by subtracting your liabilities from your assets.
Assets include economic resources that you own that have a cash value. This can include property wealth, financial assets, pension pots, and physical assets such as cars, artworks, or antiques.
Liabilities include any money that you owe to another person, company, or institution. These can be loans, mortgages, taxes, or your credit card balance.
Imagine you have savings of £10,000, a pension pot of £100,000, and a home worth £500,000, but you still owe £250,000 on the mortgage.
Your net worth would then be £360,000 as your total liabilities (£250,000) are subtracted from your total assets (£610,000).
Average net worth in America: how does the UK compare?
According to MoneyWeek’s sister site Kiplinger, the average net worth across the pond is $1,063,700 (currently equivalent to £843,730) when taking into account all ages, according to data from the Federal Reserve published in 2022.
This figure is, like in the UK, heavily skewed by the extreme wealth held by top earners in the country.
For a more representative understanding of the average net worth in America, it is best to use the median net worth, which stands at $192,900 (£152,961) when averaging across all ages.
This is higher than the UK’s median of £125,000, but the cost of living in America tends to be higher than in Britain. Furthermore, the latest available data in the US was from 2022, rather than 2016-2020 in the UK.
Like in the UK, there is also a large disparity between average net worth when looking at different age groups in America.
In the US, the median net worth of those under 35 is $39,000, while it swells to $335,600 for those 75 or older - this is, in part, due to pension pots and assets growing over time. Below is a table showing the average and median net worths in the US according to age groups:
Age Range | Average Net Worth | Median Net Worth |
|---|---|---|
Younger than 35 | $183,500 | $39,000 |
35 - 44 | $549,600 | $135,600 |
45 - 54 | $975,800 | $247,200 |
55 - 64 | $1,566,900 | $364,500 |
65 - 74 | $1,794,600 | $409,900 |
75 or older | $1,624,100 | $335,600 |
All ages | $1,063,700 | $192,900 |
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2022)
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