Are You Earning What You Should Be?

According to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) Survey of Consumer Finances, income typically rises through midlife before leveling off in your late 50s and early 60s. Seeing how your earnings and savings compare with others your age can help you gauge where you stand—and where you might want to improve.

How Much Americans Ages 55–64 Earn

Americans ages 55–64 had a median household income of $82,150 in 2022, according to the Fed’s latest survey. That’s the second-highest of any age group, behind $91,880 for those ages 45–54 and far ahead of $49,070 for those 75 and older. (Medians, rather than averages, are used to reduce the impact of unusually high or low incomes.)

These figures reflect a stage when many workers are near their peak earning years, though some may shift to part-time roles or more flexible jobs while others may have already stepped away from work altogether.

The Big Income Divides Shaping Americans’ Finances

According to the Fed’s latest survey, the median income across all households is $70,260—but that figure shifts sharply based on housing and education. Homeowners earn more than twice as much as renters, with median household incomes of $94,040 versus $42,160.

Education shows a similar divide. The median income for families headed by someone with a college degree is $117,820, compared with $32,430 for those without a high school diploma. Those with some college earn a median of $60,530, and those with a high school diploma earn a median of $52,960.

While a college degree can lead to higher income, it isn’t the only path to financial success, said Jason Howell, a family wealth advisor with Jason Howell Company in Fairfax, Virginia. “College is optional if you are conscientious and you have an idea,” he said—whether that means starting a business or pursuing a trade. In fact, he noted, trade school “can take less than six years to make six figures.”

Entrepreneurship, he added, “may take a little longer, but the longer term of owning your income is the most direct approach toward achieving whatever wealth means to you.” For experienced workers, “it’s an ideal time to start a business of any kind, especially one you’ve built skills in over the past 25 years,” whether that’s consulting, plumbing, or another trade. “You couldn’t be better equipped—and still young enough—to start something.”

What Your Net Worth Reveals About Your Retirement Readiness

Although people in their late 50s and early 60s are often labeled the “pre-retirement” group, that description “doesn’t apply to everybody,” Howell said. “There are a lot of people who don’t think they’ll ever retire.”

Many of Howell’s clients in that age range ask about retirement. He says it’s common for them to wonder, “When could I stop working if I wanted to? I probably don’t [want to], but I just like the work [to be] optional.”

When you’re thinking about whether retirement is realistic, Howell said, the question isn’t only how much you’ve saved. It also depends on whether you’ll keep earning some income, receive a pension or Social Security benefits, have a paid-off home, and how your local cost of living compares.

“If a person saying, ‘Can I retire?’ is trying to assess whether they can based on the money they accumulated, they might be way off,” he said. While many people carry a target number in their minds, it’s only meaningful if all those other pieces align.

As an example, Howell said, “Someone has $50,000 of pension income and maybe $25,000 or $30,000 of Social Security income, and perhaps a half-million dollars saved. If they’re 67 years old and their house is effectively paid off, or they’re going to sell their expensive house in their area and move where they can pay for a house with that equity, then the arithmetic actually works.”

Regularly calculating your net worth is a good way to get a sense of where you stand. It represents what you own minus what you owe—and the Fed’s latest survey shows that for Americans ages 55–64, the median net worth was $364,270 in 2022. That figure offers a useful benchmark for gauging financial stability and retirement readiness.