October 10, 2026 09:00 AM PST
(PenniesToSave.com) – The Federal Reserve released its latest Survey of Consumer Finances on Friday, and the picture it paints of American households from 2022 to 2025 is one of two very different experiences [4]. Nearly 20% of families said they had been late on a loan payment in the previous year, up from 12.2% in 2022, according to the Associated Press [4][5]. CNBC reports that is the highest share since 2010, when the country was still climbing out of the Great Recession [1].
At the same time, overall wealth edged higher. Median family net worth rose 2% to $215,900 after adjusting for inflation [1], and families headed by someone 75 or older became the wealthiest age group in the country [4]. The survey, which the Fed conducts every three years, shows households that owned stocks and retirement savings generally pulling ahead, while more families leaning on credit struggled to keep up [1][4].
Quick Links
- How Many Families Are Falling Behind on Their Debts?
- Why Is Debt Stress Rising While the Economy Kept Growing?
- Did Family Wealth Actually Grow From 2022 to 2025?
- Why Are Americans 75 and Older Now the Wealthiest Age Group?
- What Happened to the Wealth of Younger Families?
- What Do These Findings Mean for Everyday Household Budgets?
How Many Families Are Falling Behind on Their Debts?
The most striking number in the Fed’s report is the sharp rise in missed payments. In 2025, nearly 20% of U.S. families said they had been late on a loan payment in the previous year, compared with 12.2% in 2022, the Associated Press reports [4]. CNBC describes the same measure as the share of families behind on loan payments and reports it climbed from about 12% to nearly 20% [1]. The Fed itself said families were now “more likely to be behind on their financial obligations” than at any point since its 2010 survey [1].
The more serious delinquencies grew as well. The share of families two months or more behind rose to more than 8% from 5% in 2022, according to CNBC [1]. CBS News notes the debts in question include home loans, credit cards, payday loans and other types of credit [2].
The weight of those payments is heavier too. Families spending more than 40% of their income on debt payments rose to 8.6%, up from 6.5% in 2022 [1]. That works out to roughly one in 12 families, according to CBS News [2]. CNBC says it is the highest level since 2013 [1], while the AP describes it as the highest in at least 12 years [4].
The 2010 comparison carries real weight. That year the country was emerging from the Great Recession, which ran from December 2007 to June 2009 and pushed unemployment as high as 10% [1]. For households feeling stretched today, a clear plan for paying off debt and deciding which balances to tackle first can be the difference between catching up and falling further behind [1].
Nearly 20% of families said they were late on a loan payment in 2025, up from 12.2% in 2022.
Associated Press [4]
Why Is Debt Stress Rising While the Economy Kept Growing?
The three years covered by the survey were not a recession. CNBC reports the economy continued to grow during the period, but it did so alongside inflation rates not seen since the early 1980s [1]. That combination helps explain how incomes could rise on paper while more families struggled to keep up with their bills.
The Associated Press characterizes the jump in late payments as a sign of the toll that sharply higher inflation and higher interest rates have taken on lower-income Americans [4]. CBS News reports the increase may reflect years of above-normal inflation since the pandemic [2]. Neither explanation will surprise anyone who has watched grocery receipts and credit card statements over the same stretch. Rising prices work like a quiet tax on every paycheck, and they hit hardest the households with the thinnest cushion of savings [4].
There is also reason to think the survey understates today’s pressure. CBS News points out that the data does not capture this year’s renewed acceleration in prices, which it attributes to soaring energy costs [2]. Meanwhile, a New York Fed survey released earlier this week found households reporting that their finances were worse than a year ago and likely to weaken further in the year ahead, CNBC reports [1].
The takeaway for families is that a growing economy does not automatically translate into a healthier balance sheet at the kitchen table. When prices and interest rates climb faster than paychecks, the households carrying the most debt feel it first [4].
Did Family Wealth Actually Grow From 2022 to 2025?
Overall, yes, though modestly and unevenly. Inflation-adjusted median net worth rose 2% to $215,900, while average net worth rose 7% to $1.24 million, according to CNBC [1]. When the average climbs faster than the median, gains are concentrated among families at the top [1]. CNBC reports the Fed described this growth as much slower than in the 2019 to 2022 period [1], and Newser, citing the Wall Street Journal, puts that earlier surge in median net worth at 37% [3]. By the Fed’s measures, CNBC adds, wealth disparities narrowed somewhat overall [1].
At the top, the gains were striking. The median net worth of the richest one-tenth of families soared 31% to $3.6 million, according to the AP [4]. Sources describe that group differently, however. The AP and CBS News refer to the richest tenth of families [2][4], while CNBC and Newser describe it as the top income group or the top 10% of earners [1][3].
Further down the ladder, the picture reversed. Families in the bottom fourth of incomes saw median net worth fall 6% and average net worth fall 4%, CNBC reports [1]. Newser says the bottom 40% lost ground overall [3].
Education remained one of the clearest dividing lines. CNBC reports that college graduates had 1.9 times the median income of families with some college and nearly three times the median net worth [1]. Newser, citing the Wall Street Journal, reports that net worth for those without a high school diploma plunged 55%, the steepest decline on record for that group, and that Black families’ median wealth fell 25% [3].
Why Are Americans 75 and Older Now the Wealthiest Age Group?
The survey’s most notable shift came among the oldest households. Families headed by someone 75 or older are now the wealthiest age group in the country, with median net worth reaching nearly $505,000, up from just over $367,000 in 2022, the AP reports [4]. CBS News gives the figure as $504,000 in its text [2]. Newser reports the group’s wealth climbed 37% [3], while CBS News attributes a 37% increase to households headed by 65- to 74-year-olds instead [2]. Three years earlier, families aged 65 to 74 held the top spot [4].
About 18 million households fall in the 75-and-older group, roughly 13.4% of families, making it the smallest age group in the country [2]. Their average wealth rose 10% to $1.96 million [4]. Their median income rose 24% to $67,000, according to CBS News [2]. The AP notes the survey measures income for the year before each survey, so income comparisons cover 2021 to 2024 [4].
The Fed said older Americans likely benefited from growth in their retirement assets, CBS News reports [2]. The S&P 500 gained about 78% from the end of 2022 through the end of 2025 [2][3]. Fidelity Investments says the number of its 401(k) accounts holding at least $1 million reached a record 769,000 in the second quarter [2].
The pattern rewards patience. Years of steady contributions through retirement accounts such as a 401(k) compounded into real security for many older households [2]. Not everyone shared in it, though. Census Bureau data cited by CBS News shows nearly 10% of Americans 65 and older lived below the poverty line in 2025, up from about 9% a decade ago [2].
Families headed by someone 75 or older are now America’s wealthiest, with median net worth near $505,000.
Associated Press [4]
What Happened to the Wealth of Younger Families?
At the other end of the age range, the news was far less encouraging. Families headed by someone younger than 35 saw median net worth fall 23%, from $42,700 in 2022 to $33,000 in 2025, according to CBS News [2]. The AP reports the same $33,000 figure and the same 23% drop [4]. CBS News attributes the decline chiefly to a drop in business equity gains over the previous three years [2].
That matters because younger families are not a small slice of the country. Households led by people under 35 are the largest age group, accounting for roughly one in five households, CBS News reports [2].
The middle years told a mixed story. CNBC reports that income for families aged 35 to 44 tumbled 25%, which the Fed attributed to declines in capital gains income [1]. Yet the same group’s median net worth rose from $148,400 to $155,600, according to figures published by CBS News [2]. Income and net worth measure different things, so one can fall while the other rises. Families aged 45 to 54 saw median net worth slip from $270,600 to $253,700 [2].
The contrast with older households is instructive. Families who had already built ownership stakes in stocks and retirement accounts rode the market higher, while younger families, with fewer assets and more exposure to swings in business income, had less to carry them through [2][4]. Time in the market remains one of the few advantages that cannot be bought later.
Households led by people under 35 saw median net worth fall 23% to $33,000.
CBS News [2]
What Do These Findings Mean for Everyday Household Budgets?
For the typical family, the survey offers some genuine good news on income. Median family income rose about 7% from 2021 to 2024, to roughly $82,000 after adjusting for inflation, according to the AP [4]. The middle fifth of families saw the biggest gains, while the top fifth reported lower incomes, likely because of declines in volatile business income [4]. CNBC reports that average income fell 6% even as the median rose, and that income inequality narrowed slightly as a result [1].
Higher incomes, however, did not keep more families from falling behind [4]. That suggests the challenge for many households is less about earnings and more about how much of each paycheck is already spoken for by prices and payments.
The Fed’s own yardstick offers a useful self-check. The share of families spending more than 40% of income on debt payments rose to 8.6% [1]. Any household can run the same math at the kitchen table: add up monthly debt payments and divide by monthly income. A result approaching 40% is a signal to slow new borrowing and focus on paying down balances, starting with the highest-cost debt such as payday loans and credit cards, both of which CBS News lists among the debts families fell behind on [2].
From there, a simple monthly budget built around today’s prices helps keep spending in line with income. The households that came out ahead in this survey did so largely by owning assets and giving them time to grow, a reminder that consistent saving and investing pay off over the long run [4].
Final Thoughts
The Fed’s latest survey tells two stories at once. Households that owned assets, especially older Americans with years of retirement savings invested in the stock market, saw their wealth climb [4]. Households that relied on borrowing to keep up with rising costs fell behind at a rate not seen since 2010 [1].
Neither outcome happened by accident. Steady saving, long-term investing and restraint with debt have rarely looked more valuable, and the data shows how differently families fare depending on whether they have a financial cushion. One practical step is to automate your savings so an emergency fund builds before the next price spike or unexpected bill arrives.
It is also worth remembering what the survey does not capture. CBS News notes that this year’s renewed rise in prices, driven by energy costs, falls outside the 2022 to 2025 window [2]. If that pressure continues, the next survey three years from now could show even more families stretched thin. For now, the surest course for most households is the familiar one: spend less than you earn, pay down expensive debt, and give your savings time to grow.
Works Cited
[1] Cox, Jeff. “Americans’ Debt Problems Are Flashing a Warning Not Seen since the Great Recession.” CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026, www.cnbc.com/2026/10/09/american-debt-delinquency.html.
[2] Picchi, Aimee. “These 18 Million Households Now Rank as the Richest in the U.S., New Fed Data Shows.” CBS News, 9 Oct. 2026, www.cbsnews.com/news/fed-data-americans-over-75-richest/.
[3] Johnson, John. “America’s Richest Age Group Has Stocks to Thank.” Newser, 9 Oct. 2026, www.newser.com/story/397889/americans-75-and-older-are-the-wealthiest-age-group.html.
[4] Rugaber, Christopher. “Americans 75 and Older Are Wealthiest Age Group, Fed Survey Finds.” AP News, 9 Oct. 2026, apnews.com/article/wealth-stocks-debt-82ddd18744c3af21ff9084b4c7eb45b2.
[5] Associated Press. “Americans 75 and Older Are Wealthiest Age Group, Fed Survey Finds.” U.S. News & World Report, 9 Oct. 2026, www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2026-10-09/americans-75-and-older-are-wealthiest-age-group-fed-survey-finds.