New US household survey highlights median and mean income gap

The Federal Reserve published the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances on October 9, 2026. Compared with the 2022 survey, real median family income increased 7% to $82,200, while real mean income fell 6% to $145,200. The survey also covers assets, debts and net worth.

Two measures of one distribution
The median is the middle value in a distribution. The mean adds all values and divides by their number. They can move in different directions when the distribution changes, particularly at its upper end. A difference between them does not make either measure inherently wrong.

The description “real” means the comparison accounts for price changes, unlike a simple comparison of nominal dollar amounts across years. Publication year, survey year and each measure’s reference period must also be separated. The survey was conducted in 2025 and released in 2026, but the income figures compare before-tax income in 2024 with 2021, expressed in inflation-adjusted 2025 dollars.

The survey helps examine differences across households rather than relying exclusively on an economy-wide aggregate. It does not describe every family’s financial condition or measure current monthly changes in employment. Its strongest use is understanding household balance-sheet structures, supplemented by more recent indicators when assessing immediate developments. This report explains the findings and their measurement context without turning population averages into a judgment about any particular person’s financial position.