WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board on Friday released the comprehensive results of the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, providing the public, economists, and policymakers with an in-depth and granular look into the financial condition, wealth accumulation, and borrowing habits of American families.
The extensive data release offers a highly representative picture of what households across the United States own, how and how much they borrow, and the various ways they interact with the banking system. Conducted every three years since 1989, this flagship survey serves as a cornerstone for tracking long-term trends in household finances, delivering an unmatched time series of thorough economic data that underpins much of modern economic research and public policy formulation in the United States.
Alongside the raw survey data, the Board issued its official summary report, titled Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025. This accompanying analysis examines shifting patterns in household income, net worth, accumulated assets, outstanding debt, and overall financial vulnerability over the triennial period, capturing the evolving economic reality for families navigating post-pandemic financial landscapes, shifting interest rate environments, and broader macroeconomic pressures.
The Survey of Consumer Finances is widely regarded by economists and financial analysts as the most comprehensive source of information on household balance sheets in the United States. Unlike other economic datasets that focus primarily on income or aggregate spending, this survey dives deeply into the distribution of wealth and debt across different demographics, providing crucial insights into financial resilience and economic inequality.
To make the vast amount of data accessible to a wide audience alongside the detailed summary report, the Federal Reserve has deployed interactive digital tools. An interactive chartbook displaying changes in these financial characteristics over time has been made available to the public online, allowing users to visualize trends in wealth, borrowing, and asset ownership. Furthermore, microdata and additional documentation from the survey—covering a wide spectrum of economic conditions experienced by American families—have been published for researchers, academics, and policymakers to conduct deeper independent analyses.
The rigorous methodology behind the survey ensures its high standing within the economic research community. The study is conducted for the Board by NORC at the University of Chicago, a renowned social science research organization. Participants in the study are chosen at random from 119 geographic areas, encompassing both bustling metropolitan areas and remote rural counties across all regions of the United States. This scientific sampling procedure is specifically designed to produce a sample that accurately mirrors the demographic and economic diversity of American families as a whole.
For media inquiries regarding the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances or the accompanying summary report, the Federal Reserve Board has directed interested parties to contact its media relations office by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (202) 452-2955.
