How does your household compare to the typical UK family at your age? Using the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Wealth and Assets Survey, this guide breaks down mean and median household net worth across every adult age band — together with what is actually inside that wealth (property, pensions, financial savings, and physical possessions). Use it as a sense-check, not a target: the median tells you what is typical, while the mean is pulled up by a small number of very wealthy households.
Key takeaways
- The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey is the official UK source for household net wealth statistics
- Net wealth = property (net of mortgage) + private pension + financial assets + physical assets, all per household
- The median is usually a better "am I typical?" comparison than the mean
- Household wealth typically peaks in the 65-74 age band and falls slowly thereafter as pensions are drawn down
- Pension wealth overtakes property as the largest component of household wealth in the 55-64 band
- Regional variation is large — London and the South East run 50-100% above the national median for the same age
The figures, by age band
The chart below shows mean and median total household net wealth for each ONS age band. The mean is pulled up by a small number of very wealthy households, so the median is usually a better indicator of what is "typical" for someone in your band.
Breakdown by wealth type
ONS splits total household wealth into four components: property (net of any mortgage), private pension, financial wealth (savings and investments held outside a pension), and physical wealth (cars, household contents, valuables). The relative weight of each component shifts dramatically across the life cycle — pensions overtake property as the largest component in the 55-64 band for most households.
| Age band | Mean | Median | Property (net of mortgage) | Private pension | Financial (savings, investments) | Physical (vehicles, contents) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | £28k | £5k | £4k | £6k | £9k | £9k |
| 25-34 | £134k | £45k | £56k | £32k | £22k | £24k |
| 35-44 | £311k | £156k | £130k | £92k | £47k | £42k |
| 45-54 | £569k | £282k | £218k | £220k | £78k | £53k |
| 55-64 | £833k | £444k | £263k | £412k | £100k | £58k |
| 65-74 | £850k | £506k | £285k | £415k | £90k | £60k |
| 75+ | £631k | £339k | £268k | £245k | £70k | £48k |
What is typical at each age, and what drives the change
16-24: Most households in this band have only just left education or started their first job. Property wealth is rare (very few are homeowners), private pensions are small (auto-enrolment is only just starting to build up), and net wealth is dominated by physical possessions and modest savings.
25-34: First-time buyers start to push property wealth up sharply. Workplace pensions are now ten years into auto-enrolment for many in this group, but pots are still small relative to what they need to be by retirement. Student loans and high rents drag the median well below the mean.
35-44: Mortgages are being paid down and pension contributions are compounding. This is the band where the gap between owners and renters opens up most visibly: the median household has around half the wealth of the mean, reflecting a long tail of wealthier homeowners pulling the average up.
45-54: Peak earning years. Mortgages are often half repaid and private pensions are now the single largest component of household wealth for many people, on a par with property. This is also the band where 'catch-up' pension contributions make the biggest difference to the projected retirement pot.
55-64: The pre-retirement decade. Pension wealth typically overtakes property wealth as the largest single component, mortgages are mostly repaid, and households often start moving money into ISAs and cash to bridge the gap to State Pension age.
65-74: Wealth peaks in this band. Most households are mortgage-free homeowners drawing State Pension and either drawing down a DC pot or receiving a DB pension. Net worth starts to fall from this point as drawdown exceeds growth.
75+: Spending in retirement gradually draws pension and financial wealth down. Property wealth holds up because most households in this band own their home outright. The gap between mean and median widens again as a small number of very wealthy estates pull the average up.
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) — Household total wealth in Great Britain, April 2018 to March 2020 (released January 2022; Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS), Round 7).
How ONS measures household net worth
The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS) is the official UK source for household wealth statistics. It is a large-scale longitudinal survey of households in Great Britain that measures four kinds of wealth and adds them together to get total household net wealth:
- Property wealth — the value of any homes you own, net of any outstanding mortgage. A home worth £400k with a £150k mortgage contributes £250k of property wealth.
- Private pension wealth — the value of all defined-contribution pots plus the capitalised value of any defined-benefit promises. Crucially this excludes the State Pension.
- Financial wealth — cash savings, ISAs, GIAs, premium bonds, shares, and similar — net of any non-mortgage debts (credit cards, personal loans, student loans).
- Physical wealth — the resale value of cars, household contents, jewellery, antiques, and collectibles.
Two important things to remember when reading the figures below: they are per household (not per adult), and the headline numbers are split by the age of the head of household. A 40-year-old single renter and a 40-year-old couple who own a four-bed house both sit in the same age band, which is one reason the gap between the median and the mean is so wide in middle age.
Mean vs median — which one should you compare yourself to?
If you have ever felt that the average net worth figures quoted in newspapers seem unrealistically high, you are reading the mean. The mean is the total wealth of every household added together and divided by the number of households — so a single billionaire in the sample drags the average up for everyone else.
The median is the wealth of the household exactly in the middle: half of UK households are above it, half below. For a "what is typical for someone like me" sense-check, the median is the better comparison. The mean is more useful when you are thinking about the wealth of a whole age band (for example, the total stock of housing wealth held by the over-65s).
You will see in the chart below that the gap between mean and median grows steadily from the late twenties onwards. That is the wealth distribution becoming more unequal as some households compound returns on property and pensions while others do not.
How to use these figures
Comparing yourself to the median for your band is a useful reality check, but try not to read it as a target. The number that actually matters for your retirement is whether your projected pot will sustain the income you want to draw — not whether you are above or below the typical 45-year-old today. Our retirement projection tools help you model exactly that.
A few caveats worth keeping in mind:
- The ONS figures are for Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) and use the most recent published WAS round. Numbers are refreshed every two years.
- Household composition matters. The bands include singles, couples, and multi-generational households all together.
- Regional variation is huge. London and the South East are typically 50-100% above the national median for the same age band; the North East and Wales sit well below it.
- Pension wealth includes the capitalised value of future defined-benefit income. If you have a generous DB pension, your "wealth" on this measure can be much higher than your actual savings balance suggests.
If you are signed in to Wealth365, the "How you compare (UK average)" tile in your Plan Insights drawer will automatically pull your projected net worth from your live plan and place it next to the right ONS age band, using the same figures you see on this page. If you would like help interpreting where you stand and what to do about it, a regulated financial adviser can build a personalised plan around your specific situation.
Important: This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Tax rules can change and individual circumstances vary. If you need advice tailored to your situation, please consult a qualified, FCA-regulated financial adviser. You can browse advisers in our adviser directory.