Rising Home Equity Boosted Household Wealth During Pandemic

The median net worth of U.S. households increased about $40,000 from 2019 to 2022, primarily due to rising home equity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Census Bureau
December 17, 2024
Written by Christin Landivar
Photo: Courtesy

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, median household net worth was $176,500 in 2022, up from $136,500 in 2019. Among households that owned a home, median home equity increased by $47,900 during that time.

All estimates are adjusted for inflation to 2022 dollars.

As home prices rose sharply throughout the country starting in 2020, home equity also increased for most income and demographic groups.

A new data visualization explores changes in net worth, assets and debt across different demographic and economic characteristics from 2017 to 2022.

Among more commonly held assets, or assets held by at least half of all households, home equity had the largest value.

Equity is the value of an asset, minus any secured debts held against it. To calculate home equity, subtract any amount still owed on a mortgage from the value of a home.

In 2022, about 62.2% of households reported home equity with a median value of $198,000 and about 35.7% of households held home debt with a median value of $160,000.

Home Equity by Race and Ethnicity

As home prices rose sharply throughout the country starting in 2020, home equity also increased for most income and demographic groups.

Among the groups with the largest home equity gains were households with an Asian householder. These households were more highly concentrated in the West and Northeast, regions with higher home prices and larger home price increases during this period.

A greater share of households reported having home equity, increasing from 61.3% in 2019 to 62.2% in 2022.

The share of households with home equity by race and ethnicity in 2022:

About 70% of households with White alone, non-Hispanic householders.
59.3% of those with an Asian householder.
47.8% of those with Hispanic householders.
40.5% of those with Black householders.

The 2022 and 2019 estimates by race group were not statistically different.

Home Equity by Age

Home equity generally increases with age.

In 2022, younger householders and households with children were less likely to own a home and if they did their home debt was typically higher.

The youngest householders, under age 35, held twice as much home debt ($200,000) as those householders 75 and older ($100,000).

Households with children under 18 held $197,000 in home debt and those without children in the home held $140,000 in home debt.

Visualizing U.S. Households’ Assets and Debts

Note: Select the image to go to the interactive data visualization.

About the Data

Detailed tables on the distribution of household net worth, assets and debt and our newly released brief on the wealth of households provide more information on wealth and asset ownership.

All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and are statistically significant at the 90% confidence level unless otherwise noted. The Census Bureau reviewed the public use tables used to produce this product to ensure appropriate access, use and disclosure avoidance protection of the confidential source data.

SIPP is a nationally representative, longitudinal survey administered by the Census Bureau that provides comprehensive information on the dynamics of income, employment, household composition and government program participation. Information about SIPP data quality is available on the Technical Documentation webpage.

Christin Landivar is a senior researcher in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division.

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