What does the Survey of Consumer Finances measure?
The Short Answer
The SCF brings assets, debt, income, pensions, and financial behavior into one picture. The 2025 cycle also adds questions about spending and support networks.
Look at what comes in, what is owned, and what is owed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between income and net worth?
Income is money received over time. Net worth is the value of assets minus debts at one point in time.
Does home equity count as wealth?
Yes. Home value minus home-secured debt contributes to wealth. Equity is different from cash available in a bank account.
Can I add the published asset medians together?
No. Different medians can describe different families and different owner groups. Their sum is not the median of total assets or net worth.
The Long Answer · Go deeper
The SCF measures several dimensions of family finances together: assets, liabilities, income, retirement arrangements, and financial behavior. Income is a flow over a period; wealth is a stock measured at a point in time. Net worth subtracts liabilities from assets. A rise in one measure does not necessarily imply improvement in the others.
Interpretation also depends on the population behind an estimate. A median for homeowners excludes families without a home, while a median for all families covers a broader population. Asset-specific medians cannot simply be added to reconstruct median family net worth: the family in the middle of one distribution need not be the family in the middle of another. Read the unit, reference period, and group before comparing two figures.
Read the Federal Reserve source ↗ · Independent Consumer Magazine explanation