How much is a typical Arizona household actually worth, and how does that change as people move from their 30s toward retirement? The honest answer is that "average" and "typical" point to very different numbers.
Below are 13 numbered facts on household net worth by age, drawn from federal wealth surveys and Arizona-specific Census and housing data. Every figure is linked to its source at the foot of the page. Updated July 2026.
The national baseline: net worth by age
The Federal Reserve does not publish net worth broken out for Arizona specifically, so the age curve below is the national benchmark from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). We then anchor it to Arizona using state income and housing data, because a household's wealth tracks closely with what it earns and what its home is worth.
1. The typical US household is worth about $192,900
In the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the most recent edition, median household net worth was $192,900, while the mean (average) was roughly $1.06 million.1 The median is the better description of a "typical" household, because a small number of very wealthy families pull the average far above where most people sit.
2. Median net worth climbs from about $39,000 under 35 to $410,000 at 65 to 74
Median household net worth rises with age as mortgages get paid down and retirement accounts compound: roughly $39,040 for households under 35, $135,300 at 35 to 44, $246,700 at 45 to 54, $364,270 at 55 to 64, and a peak near $410,000 at 65 to 74.2
3. Averages run three to five times higher than the medians
The mean net worth for the same age bands is far larger: about $183,380 under 35, $548,070 at 35 to 44, $971,270 at 45 to 54, $1.56 million at 55 to 64, and $1.78 million at 65 to 74.3 That is why financial planners generally treat the median as the realistic benchmark for a typical family.4
| Age of head of household | Median net worth (US) | Mean net worth (US) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $39,040 | $183,380 |
| 35 to 44 | $135,300 | $548,070 |
| 45 to 54 | $246,700 | $971,270 |
| 55 to 64 | $364,270 | $1,564,070 |
| 65 to 74 | $410,000 | $1,780,720 |
| 75 and older | $334,700 | $1,620,100 |
The mean-versus-median gap
4. Younger households start near zero
Under-35 households carry the lowest net worth of any age group, weighed down by student loans, early-career incomes, and little time to accumulate home equity or investments; their median sits around $39,000 even as the average is skewed higher by a handful of high earners.5
5. The gap between average and typical is widest at the top of the age curve
At ages 65 to 74 the mean ($1.78 million) is more than four times the median ($410,000). A single benchmark that quotes only the "average" would badly overstate what a typical Arizona retiree household actually holds, which is why both numbers appear side by side above.6
Arizona's anchors: income and home values
6. Arizona's median household income is about $81,486
Arizona's median household income was roughly $81,486 in the 2024 American Community Survey, close to and slightly below the national median.7 Because net worth scales with earnings, an Arizona household near this income should expect a net worth in the same neighborhood as the national medians for its age band, not the far larger averages.
7. The average Arizona home is worth about $420,000
The Zillow Home Value Index for Arizona stood near $420,310 in mid-2026, down about 6.8% over the prior year after the pandemic-era run-up cooled.8 Even after that dip, Arizona home values sit above the national typical value tracked by the Census Bureau.9
8. Arizona's median property value is above the US median
The median value of owner-occupied homes in Arizona was about $394,500 in 2024, roughly 1.2 times the national median of around $332,700.10 For most families that home is the single largest slice of net worth, so Arizona's above-average home values give many local owners a head start on the national wealth curve.
| Measure | Arizona | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median household income (2024) | ~$81,486 | ~$80,000 |
| Median owner-occupied home value (2024) | ~$394,500 | ~$332,700 |
| Homeownership rate (2024) | 67.4% | 65.2% |
Homeownership and where wealth sits
9. Arizona's homeownership rate is 67.4%, above the US average
About 67.4% of Arizona households owned their home in 2024, higher than the national rate of roughly 65.2%.11 That matters for net worth because owners build equity while renters do not, and Arizona's ownership edge helps lift local balance sheets.12
10. Home equity is the biggest asset for the typical household
For most families in the middle of the wealth distribution, the primary residence is the largest single component of net worth, ahead of retirement accounts and other financial assets.13 In a state where two-thirds of households own and home values top the national median, that makes housing the dominant driver of the age-by-age wealth climb.
Concentration and the retirement drawdown
11. Arizona incomes have grown fast over the past decade
Arizona's median household income has risen substantially over the last ten years, up from the mid-$50,000s in the mid-2010s to above $80,000 by 2024.14 Rising incomes and rising home values together explain why net worth accumulates faster for households moving through their prime earning years.
12. The top 1% holds about 30% of all US wealth
Wealth is heavily concentrated nationally: the top 1% of households held roughly 30% of total household net worth in the Federal Reserve's Distributional Financial Accounts as of early 2025.15 This concentration is the mechanical reason mean net worth sits so far above the median in every age band, in Arizona as everywhere else.16
13. Net worth dips after 75 as households spend down
Median net worth slips from about $410,000 at 65 to 74 to roughly $334,700 for households 75 and older, as retirees draw down savings and, in many cases, sell or downsize the family home.17 That late-life drawdown is one reason estate planning matters: the assets a household spent decades building need clear instructions before they are passed on.
Wherever your household falls on this curve, the numbers are only useful if the wealth actually reaches the people you intend. If you own a home in Arizona, most of your net worth is tied up in an asset that does not transfer automatically the way you might assume. You can put a plan in place in one sitting with our guided will builder. For more local context, see how many residents are prepared in how many Arizonans have a will.
Sources
- 1Federal Reserve, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022 (Survey of Consumer Finances) (federalreserve.gov)
- 2Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances: median net worth by age (federalreserve.gov)
- 3NerdWallet, Average Net Worth by Age in the U.S. (2022 SCF mean values) (nerdwallet.com)
- 4Fidelity, Average and median net worth by age (fidelity.com)
- 5CNBC Select, The average net worth of Americans under 35 (cnbc.com)
- 6Fidelity, Average and median net worth by age (mean vs median gap) (fidelity.com)
- 7FRED (St. Louis Fed), Median Household Income in Arizona (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- 8Zillow, Arizona Home Value Index (zillow.com)
- 9U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Arizona (census.gov)
- 10Data USA, Arizona median property value (Census ACS) (datausa.io)
- 11USAFacts, Homeownership rate in Arizona (usafacts.org)
- 12FRED (St. Louis Fed), Homeownership Rate for Arizona (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- 13Federal Reserve, 2022 SCF: primary residence as largest household asset (federalreserve.gov)
- 14Macrotrends, Arizona Median Household Income (1984-2024) (macrotrends.net)
- 15Federal Reserve, Distributional Financial Accounts (top 1% wealth share) (federalreserve.gov)
- 16FRED Blog (St. Louis Fed), Trends in the US distribution of net worth (fredblog.stlouisfed.org)
- 17NerdWallet, Average and Median Net Worth by Age (75+ drawdown) (nerdwallet.com)
About the author
Max Kuch
Max Kuch writes about estate planning, wills and inheritance for Arizona Last Will. He gathers the numbers from official Arizona and US public data, then explains what they mean for anyone thinking about putting their wishes in writing.