What’s the average net worth in the UK for individuals and how do I stack up? It’s a natural question that we all have as it helps us assess where we stand in relation to others. There are multiple ways of slicing the data, so we’ve presented a couple of different cuts at the data in the article.
Your net worth is how much you own in total value minus anything you owe. For example, you’d account for savings, liquid money, housing, pension funds, and other assets considered high-value.
You’d then subtract any debts you owe, such as any credit card bills, student loan rates and/or overdraft fees.
The difference between net financial wealth and total wealth is the latter includes physical assets like homes, vehicles, and private pensions.
Net Worth of Individuals by Age
Age is a very natural slicing factor for looking at net worth as it has a direct connection to how much time a person has had to earn money and compound their wealth.
The data below presents the median and average for each age range. Recall that the median represents the mid-point for the group under consideration. If we look at the 30-34 year old age group, it means that half the people in that age group have a net worth less than £74,300 while the other half are above that figure.
Meanwhile the average for the group is £142,500. The big difference between the median and the average indicates that there are relatively few, but wealthy, individuals who pull up the whole group’s average. This is not surprising and we’ve dissected this further in the section below.
| Age Range | Median | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 16-19 years old | £14,000 | £19,100 |
| 20-24 years old | £15,300 | £23,600 |
| 25-29 years old | £24,200 | £46,800 |
| 30-34 years old | £44,700 | £85,500 |
| 35-39 years old | £74,300 | £142,500 |
| 40-44 years old | £131,000 | £241,900 |
| 45-49 years old | £173,500 | £310,100 |
| 50-54 years old | £224,800 | £380,700 |
| 55-59 years old | £306,500 | £515,000 |
| 60-64 years old | £380,100 | £586,900 |
| 65-69 years old | £355,800 | £597,200 |
| 70-74 years old | £319,700 | £504,700 |
| 75-79 years old | £281,400 | £431,200 |
| 80-84 years old | £252,700 | £367,500 |
| 85-89 years old | £286,600 | £384,300 |
| 90+ years old | £223,900 | £322,400 |
| All persons | £124,700 | £304,800 |
As you can see, the net worth increases with age. However, it decreases again once people pass retirement age. That’s very likely because they are drawing on pensions and retirement funds.
Distribution of Individual Net Worth by Deciles
When looking at distribution of wealth across individuals, as you would expect, wealth is pretty unevenly distributed. The top 10% of individuals hold almost half of all the wealth!
This inequality is typical across most regions and in fact income inequality in the UK has not increased over the last 14 years of ONS data (at least when measured across households).
Distribution of Individual Net Worth by Factors
The ONS has helpfully tracked a number of other parameters while collecting their census data. Please use the tool below to dissect the data and understand how various factors such as education, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status have on the results.
Net worth by age is something that’s commonly referenced and you can see that data in the chart by selecting “Age” in the dropdown menu. The chart shows you the median data points for each age category along with the range for that median.
As you can see, the net worth increases with age. However, it decreases again once people pass retirement age. That’s very likely because they are drawing on pensions and retirement funds.
Which region in the UK is the wealthiest?
By looking at average data, the ONS tells us that the regions of Sussex and Surrey are the wealthiest in the UK. It’s thought that residents here have assets worth around £263,000.
Weirdly, one area of London is the poorest in the UK. That’s Inner London East, where the average citizen has an asset total of around 10% of someone in Surrey or Sussex.
The map below will help you take a deep dive in to the median and mean (the average) household net worth by region in the UK. Notice the differences in values between the median and the average.
Before You Go…
We looked at individual net wealth here, but curious how your household net wealth stacks up in the UK? Try out our Household Net Worth Percentile calculator for the UK to see what percentile you fall in.