Follow the evidence.

The right survey, the right year.

The Federal Reserve's official survey year is 2025. Its results were released on October 9, 2026. Consumer Magazine sponsors our 2026 publication. Consumer.info and NDS did not conduct the official survey.

Start with these sources.

• Federal Reserve release, October 9, 2026 — the main headline findings.
• Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025 — the full report, tables, and survey methods.
• Federal Reserve SCF data page — public files, weights, codebooks, and technical guidance.
• About the SCF — sponsorship and the purpose of the survey.
• NORC's participant page — information for people contacted about the official study.

Read a number with its label.

All dollar comparisons in our table use 2025 buying power. Income is measured for the year before each survey. Some asset figures cover only families that own the asset. Published headline changes are rounded.

Notes on the supplied presentation.

The downloadable 14-page presentation is the publisher's original file. We have kept it intact. For this website, the official report controls where a detail differs.

• Interview count: the completed 2025 survey had 4,367 family interviews. “Up to 7,000” is a planning target, not the completed count.
• Interview length: the 2025 median was about 120 minutes. The report gives 110 minutes for the 2022 median; it does not describe the 2025 average as 110 minutes.
• Fieldwork timing: the supplied April 2025–March 2026 range is not used as a verified timeline here. NORC's participant page says interviewing began in March 2025.
• New spending questions: our site describes the broader spending and support-network additions supported by the official report, rather than repeating the presentation's specific vacation-spending claim.

About the free summary pack.

We placed six selected published measures into tidy rows, with the group, survey year, reference year, units, and source in each record. We checked for repeated keys and missing required fields. This is a source-linked summary, not a re-analysis of the full household file.

For research with the full file.

The public data contain five implicates per family. The Federal Reserve provides weights and variance instructions. Read those methods before producing estimates or confidence intervals. Do not treat all rows as different families.

About the learning tools and images.

The calculator and five-family example use made-up numbers. They explain ideas and do not collect official survey answers. The magazine cover and article pictures use AI-created editorial artwork. They do not show actual survey participants. The professional role guide connects survey themes to work areas as our editorial interpretation, not Federal Reserve career guidance.

Report a correction.

Email the page link, the issue, and a source to Chris@Consumer.info. We review the evidence and update the page when needed.