Only 26% of US households have reached “essential wealth”, a new measure intended to show whether families have enough assets and savings not only to cover everyday costs but also to withstand shocks and plan for the future.
The framework, developed by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, defines the threshold as holding multiple appreciating assets, such as a home and a retirement account, alongside sufficient liquid savings.
For a household in its thirties, the benchmark is about $120,000 (£91,000) in net worth and six weeks of take-home pay in accessible savings.
The largest group of households, 43%, falls into a middle category. These families have enough net worth to cover three months of expenses at the federal poverty line, but remain below the level considered necessary for meaningful resilience and longer-term prosperity.
Most older households remain below essential wealth
The shortfall can leave families choosing between saving for an emergency repair and paying into a retirement account, or unable to put money aside for a house deposit.
Progress also appears limited among older households. Only 24% of those aged between 50 and 64 have reached essential wealth, leaving most people in that age group without the level of financial security outlined by the framework as they approach retirement.
The estimates are based on calculations using savings and wealth data from the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances.
Families without assets such as property and retirement savings face greater exposure to financial shocks and also miss out on the gains those assets can deliver over time.
Between 2000 and 2024, house prices increased by about 60% after inflation, while the S&P 500’s total return was roughly 200% after inflation. Real median household income rose by about 15% over the same period.
The gap has wider economic consequences, as households using almost all their earnings to pay for essentials including fuel, food, housing, healthcare and childcare have less capacity to absorb a job loss or medical bill.
Those with savings and assets can recover more quickly without cutting spending as sharply, taking on additional debt or abandoning long-term plans. The Aspen Institute programme argues that helping more families build wealth could therefore strengthen the wider economy as well as individual household finances.
It says the essential wealth measure could help policymakers design wealth-building programmes and assess whether they are working, treating financial security as a foundation for future opportunity rather than a luxury.
