Net Worth of the 10%, 1%, and 0.1% Households

[firewhen]

Looks like these levels rose, and this would be before the run up in stock prices last year. So being a millionaire now does not quite get you into the top 10%. Over 1% of the country are decamillionaires encompassing over 1 million households--lotta money out there!

Percentile Threshold Net Worth:

10% $ 1,219,126
2% $ 6,557,023
1% $11,099,166
0.1% $43,207,732

This data comes from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances from the Federal Reserve. (This is the newest data in late 2020). There are roughly 1,286,744 households in the top one percent or 1,762,143 workers. In the first quarter of 2020, the top 1% of households and nonprofit organizations held 31.2% of all net worth in the United States while the lower 50% of households and nonprofit organizations held 1.4%.

 

[firewhen]

Some more millionaires data

Note this data include the value of any primary home.

There are 15,298,070 millionaire households in the United States, or roughly 11.89% of all households.

There are 8,046,080 US households with $2 million or more in net worth. That is roughly 6.25% of all US Households.

There are roughly 5,671,005 households with $3 million or more in America, 4.41% of all US households.

4,473,836 households have $4 million or more in wealth, while around 3,592,054 have at least $5 million. Respectively, that is 3.48% and 2.79% of all households in America.

Around 1,456,336 households in America have $10 million or more in net worth. That's 1.13% of American households.

 

[Car-Guy]

When I was growing up (50+ years ago), having a million seemed like a good target number.... At that time, I didn't know any millionaires but I knew some people who "I thought were rich" and seemed to live comfortable... So a million seemed like a good target.... Fast forward 50 years.... A million ain't what it was back then! Today (IMO) I feel you need at least 2 million "investible" to be in that same financial freedom boat and that's if you have no debt on top of that....That would be in the top ~5% according to the numbers above... And I still wouldn't call that wealthy... Comfortable yes, wealthy no... Again, IMO, YMMV....

 

[euro]

When I was growing up (50+ years ago), having a million seemed like a good target number.... At that time, I didn't know any millionaires but I knew some people who "I thought were rich" and seemed to live comfortable... So a million seemed like a good target.... Fast forward 50 years.... A million ain't what it was back then! Today (IMO) I feel you need at least 2 million "investible" to be in that same financial freedom boat and that's if you have no debt on top of that....That would be in the top ~5% according to the numbers above... Again, IMO, YMMV....

Based on just inflation alone, it seems like 1 million in 1970 should feel more like 5 or 6 million today.

 

[Car-Guy]

Based on just inflation alone, it seems like 1 million in 1970 should feel more like 5 or 6 million today.

Probably true, but back then I was looking at living another 50 to 70 years on that million... Now it's more like 10 to 15 years, at best... So now 2+ million, w/zero debt, is good enough to give me that feeling.


Edit: According to the inflation calculator I just used you would need $6,390,395 today to have the buying power of 1m 50 years ago. And $2,847,205 to have the buying power of 1m 40 years ago... (The 1970's were a real killer on inflation)

 

[Filetmerlot]

To me those numbers are surprising. Don't we hear all the time that 9 out of 10 (or some variation of that maybe 8 out of 10) can't come up with $500 for an unexpected expense? To me that indicates that the 1 out of 10 that can come up with $500 is a millionaire.

 

[Midpack]

To me those numbers are surprising. Don't we hear all the time that 9 out of 10 (or some variation of that maybe 8 out of 10) can't come up with $500 for an unexpected expense? To me that indicates that the 1 out of 10 that can come up with $500 is a millionaire.

It’s 4 of 10 can’t come up with $400 FWIW. Not inconsistent with the stats above.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/10-americ...0-emergency-expense-federal/story?id=63253846

Almost 40% of American adults wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency with cash, savings or a credit-card charge that they could quickly pay off, a Federal Reserve survey finds.

About 27% of those surveyed would need to borrow the money or sell something to come up with the $400 and an additional 12% would not be able to cover it at all, according to the Federal Reserve's 2018 report on the economic well-being of U.S. households released on Thursday.

 

[Fermion]

$11 million to get into the 1% club, oh my.

I know there are a couple on here that are in that group but dang that is a high bar.

Oh well. The better club is the 70s club. Steve Jobs and Paul Allen didn't even make that one.

 

[ncbill]

I'd love to join the 2% club, but I don't think it's gonna happen...

 

[braumeister]

The better club is the 70s club. Steve Jobs and Paul Allen didn't even make that one.

That's a far better way to look at it.

 

[CRLLS]

If they would just stop raising the bar for joining that 2% club, I might make it in another 20-30 years.

 

[statsman]

Hard to believe 1 in 50 have that much net worth.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Hard to believe 1 in 50 have that much net worth.

That is my thought as well. I would be interested to see this data excluding the value of the primary residence. I also wonder about the distribution of these households given that the home value is included. Perhaps many of them are located in areas with very high property values? It's difficult to believe that in a room of 100 people (different households) in my Midwest city, that two of them are worth more than $6Million with one of those having an 8 figure portfolio. But then again, I don't want to argue with the numbers.

On the other hand, since nearly 12% of us are millionaires, the odds are good that you are in fact living next door to one!

 

[bonvoyage]

That is my thought as well. I would be interested to see this data excluding the value of the primary residence. I also wonder about the distribution of these households given that the home value is included. Perhaps many of them are located in areas with very high property values? It's difficult to believe that in a room of 100 people (different households) in my Midwest city, that two of them are worth more than $6Million with one of those having an 8 figure portfolio. But then again, I don't want to argue with the numbers.

On the other hand, since nearly 12% of us are millionaires, the odds are good that you are in fact living next door to one!

I'd be willing to bet that many, if not most, of my neighbors here in northern New Jersey are in the 98th or higher percentile - we are in the 98th percentile in my household. Most of my neighbors work in fields like finance, software (me) or biotech (wife).

 

[Amethyst]

Always seems to be 40%. Interesting.

It’s 4 of 10 can’t come up with $400 FWIW. Not inconsistent with the stats above.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/10-americ...0-emergency-expense-federal/story?id=63253846

 

[Amethyst]

Based on home values and conspicuous consumption, we would seem to be the "poor people" in our neighborhood. Which is fine with us.

On the other hand, since nearly 12% of us are millionaires, the odds are good that you are in fact living next door to one!

 

[statsman]

I wonder if the value of any pension or SS payment is added to these net worth rankings.

 

[Amethyst]

You made me think of all the high-dollar entertainers who have joined the dreaded "27" club over the years.

Oh well. The better club is the 70s club. Steve Jobs and Paul Allen didn't even make that one.

 

[stepford]

I remember when (PayPal founder and generally odious) Peter Thiel dismissively referred to "single digit millionaires" as the new middle class who couldn't afford the benefits of true wealth. I guess the shoe fits most of us in the 2-10%.

 

[l8_apex]

This data comes from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances from the Federal Reserve. (This is the newest data in late 2020).

Can you post a link to the source? My google search is returning a page that doesn't have 2020 data included. Thanks

 

[Timeisprecious]

I thank the Lord for a military pension! I'm not a member of ANY of these!

 

[MichaelB]

Here are links to the most recent version (2019) of the survey

Home page https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm
Executive summary https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/scf20.pdf

It is data rich and great for nerds stuck indoors during the winter looking for something new to keep themselves busy.

 

[mistermike40]

I would like to see those same stats broken out by state. The percentage of millionaires in NY or California is MUCH MUCH higher than Oklahoma or Kansas. It's almost meaningless when the HCOL/LCOL states are combined.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

I remember when 4% of the country was millionaires. I believe thats what the Millionaire Next Door said.

 

[audreyh1]

Looks like these levels rose, and this would be before the run up in stock prices last year. So being a millionaire now does not quite get you into the top 10%. Over 1% of the country are decamillionaires encompassing over 1 million households--lotta money out there!

Percentile Threshold Net Worth:

10% $ 1,219,126
2% $ 6,557,023
1% $11,099,166
0.1% $43,207,732

This data comes from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances from the Federal Reserve. (This is the newest data in late 2020). There are roughly 1,286,744 households in the top one percent or 1,762,143 workers. In the first quarter of 2020, the top 1% of households and nonprofit organizations held 31.2% of all net worth in the United States while the lower 50% of households and nonprofit organizations held 1.4%.

Thank for including the details such as year and by household. I didn’t realize the 2019 data was already available.