Mar 3, 2026
It’s one thing to compare your wealth to the richest man in the world — Elon Musk, who has more than $670 billion to his name.
Or President Donald Trump, worth more than $7 billion, according to Moneyweek (1).
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It’s another thing to look at how you’re faring relative to your neighbors. If you feel like you’re falling behind, the good news is equally bad news. Turns out a lot of people are falling behind.
When you look closely at money stats revolving around typical Americans, a bleak picture emerges.
These stats should give you a clearer idea of what the economy looks like for everyday people and how your financial situation compares to your neighbor rather than a tech mogul or president.
Here are the top five shocking stats you should know.
1. The auto loan crisis is nearly as big as student loan debt
The student loan debt crisis gets a lot more attention than the auto loan crisis. It’s probably easy to assume that the former is a bigger problem, but recent stats suggest they’re nearly identical.
At the end of 2025, U.S. households had an aggregate student loan balance of $1.66 trillion and aggregate auto loan debt outstanding worth $1.67 trillion, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve (2).
Simply put, millions of Americans are facing two gigantic debt crises simultaneously. Millions more are struggling with at least one of the above. Unfortunately, these struggles are reflected in another bleak personal finance statistic.
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2. Personal bankruptcies have surged in 47 states and DC
The financial pressure on ordinary families is clearly reflected in the surging personal bankruptcy filings. Between 2024 and 2025, personal bankruptcy filing spiked 11%, according to the House Budget Committee (3).
Over the course of 2025, a total of 544,000 people filed for bankruptcy, which is the highest level since 2019. The committee also found that such filings were up in 47 states as well as the District of Columbia, which illustrates how widespread this issue is.
3. There’s a wide and growing gap between average wealth and median wealth
In 2025, the average wealth per adult in the U.S. was the second highest in the world, at $620,654, according to the UBS Global Wealth report (4). That’s only slightly lower than the average wealth of Swiss adults: $687,166.
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But the reality on the ground is much different. A handful of centi-billionaires — Elon Musk among them — skew the numbers.
For instance, if Elon Musk and you enter the same elevator, the average wealth per adult in that elevator is nearly $335 billion.
That’s why the median net worth stat is more representative for the ordinary family. In 2025, Americans had a median net worth of $124,041, ranking 15th in the world. Luxembourg is at the top, with a median net worth of $395,000 (4).
This wide gap between average and median wealth reflects the country’s economic inequality.
The good news is that if your personal net worth is above $124,041, you’re wealthier than half of all adults across the country.
Read More: Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
4. Average age of first-time homebuyers has crept up to 40
With the soaring cost of homes and elevated mortgage rates, young Americans are struggling more than ever — and longer than ever — to get on the property ladder.
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By the end of 2025, the median age of a first-time homebuyer was 40 — a record high — according to the National Association of Realtors (5).
Meanwhile, the ratio of homes purchased by first-time buyers fell to a record low of just 21%.
So if you’re buying a home in your 30s or 20s, you’re outperforming many of your peers.
5. Social security funds may be depleted in just 6 years
According to the latest estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, both pillars of the Social Security system, will be depleted by 2032 (6).
That’s one year less than the CBO’s previous forecast and just six short years away.
To be fair, lawmakers can pull several levers before this deadline to bolster the fund and either avoid depletion or postpone it. But if they don’t, all beneficiaries should be prepared for a potential cut.
Whether you’re young and contributing to the trust fund or old and collecting benefits, this rapidly approaching cliffedge might make you nervous.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Moneyweek (1); Federal Reserve (2); House Budget Committee (3); Voronoi (4); National Association of Realtors (5); CBS News (6)
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He's also the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms. His work has appeared in Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine and Piggybank.
