National data on wealth (or net worth), released this month, show that the median Black family’s net worth was about $37,000 in 2025, compared with $80,000 for Latine families, $332,000 for White families, and $678,000 for Asian families (Figure 1).
It’s important to note that both median and average net worth measures can conceal differences within each racial or ethnic group. For example, although Asian families had the highest average net worth of all families, significant wealth disparities exist among Asian families by national origin.
Only Black families saw a decline in their median net worth since 2022
The Federal Reserve Board releases data every three years from its Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), which is among the most comprehensive data sources on household wealth.
Inflation-adjusted median net worth across US families increased by about 2 percent between 2022 and 2025. Only Black families saw a decline in their inflation-adjusted median net worth during that period, falling 25 percent from $49,100 to $36,800. Black families’ median income also declined. Meanwhile, the median net worth of White families was four times that of Latine families in 2025, the smallest ratio recorded in the SCF’s history. In 1989, the median net worth of White families was 14 times greater than that of Latine families.
White families are most likely to own homes, retirement accounts, stocks or business equity
In 2025, 47 percent of Black families owned their primary residence, compared with 52 percent of Latine families and 75 percent of White families. Further, 33 percent of Black families owned retirement accounts, compared with 35 percent of Latine families and 63 percent of White families (Figure 2).
Tax policies can reinforce wealth disparities
Although the tax code is, overall, progressive (those with higher incomes pay more in taxes than those with lower incomes), some tax credits, deductions, exclusions, or preferentially low rates provide greater benefits to families with more income and wealth.
For example, homes and retirement accounts are crucial tools for wealth accumulation in the US. The home mortgage interest deduction and various tax subsidies for retirement savings can help taxpayers accumulate wealth, but families who do not have sufficient resources to buy a home or save for retirement are less likely to benefit. The federal government forgoes hundreds of billions of dollars each year in income tax revenue for these tax policy choices.
Similarly, lower tax rates on long-term capital gains from stocks and business equity provide tax benefits that prior research has shown overwhelmingly benefit White families.
Racial disparities persist for reasons beyond tax policy
For centuries, people of color in the US have been excluded from crucial pathways of opportunity, resulting in deep racial disparities in wealth and access to wealth-building assets. These disparities persist across generations via gifts and inheritances and regardless of family income or education. Discrimination in housing markets and jobs, then and now, can blunt advancements in economic prosperity for all.
Tax policies can reinforce existing racial wealth disparities, but policymakers can examine how tax benefits are distributed across racial and ethnic groups so that they may design tax policies to better support all children and families.
