State of the Standard of Living in Numbers
Different measures of individual and household financial health reveal both gains and persistent challenges regarding 2025. The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) has risen every year since 2020, while the amount of wealth held by the middle class (households in the middle 20% of all income earners) and household debt has stayed relatively steady. The share of the population living in poverty is near a historic low, but there are more people experiencing homelessness than ever recorded.
The basics
$70K
$496K
35.9M
Are Americans getting richer? Let's get into it
GDP per capita was higher in 2025 than 2024. However, two metrics of financial health, average household debt and middle class wealth, were relatively stable between 2024 and 2025.
GDP per capita, which is one way to measure the population’s economic well-being, reached $70,140 in the third quarter of 2025. This is up 1.8% since the same point in 2024. Like in 2024, GDP per capita increased with each quarter of 2025 through the latest data available.
GDP per capita was $70,140 in Q3 2025.
Real gross domestic product per person, by quarter, adjusted for inflation (chained 2017 dollars)
The average middle class household held $496,000 in wealth (the value of all assets minus debt) in the third quarter of 2025, up 0.3% from a year prior. Middle class wealth peaked in 2022 at $515,000, and has stayed between $482,000 to $496,000 since then.
The average middle class household held $496K in wealth in Q3 2025.
Average middle class household wealth, adjusted for inflation (Q3 2025 dollars)
The average person owed $63,300 in debt in the third quarter of 2025. Average debt stabilized in 2013 after peaking during the 2008 financial crisis, and has stayed between $61,000 and $65,000 per household since then.
The average person owed $63,300 in Q3 2025.
Debt per capita for people with a credit report, adjusted for inflation (Q3 2025 dollars)
Here's a little more about poverty in the US
The federal poverty level is updated every year to account for inflation. The level changes depending on the number of children, adults, and/or seniors (ages 65+) in a household. In 2026, the poverty level is $33,000 in household income for a family of four. It is as low as $15,960 for a single person, and $55,720 for a family of eight.
Federal and state agencies use the poverty level as a starting point to determine eligibility for several federal assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
About 10.6% of the population — or 35.9 million people — lived below the poverty line in 2024. This is the second lowest poverty rate since it was first measured in 1959, only behind 2019 when it was 10.5%.
About 10.6% of the population – or 35.9 million people – lived below the poverty line in 2024.
Percent of the population living below the poverty line
Approximately one in eight people (12.3% of the US population) received monthly SNAP benefits in FY 2025, or a total of 42.1 million people. SNAP participation was lower than the peak in FY 2013 (when it was 15% of the population), and it has remained relatively steady since FY 2020. The average amount of monthly benefits was $185 per person in September 2025.
One in eight people received monthly food benefits from SNAP in FY 2025.
Percentage of the population receiving monthly SNAP payments, annual average
About 6.9 million people received benefits from WIC on average in FY 2025. This is around 160,000 more people than in FY 2024, but lower than the peak of 9.2 million people in FY 2010.
About 6.9 million people received WIC benefits in FY 2025.
Number of monthly WIC recipients, annual average
How many people are experiencing homelessness?
Nearly three-quarters of a million people were homeless in 2024 — that's about the same as the entire population of Seattle, Washington.
The number of people experiencing homelessness hit an all-time high in 2024 at over 770,000 people. This was up 18% from 2023, and up 32% from 2022. Several possible factors, including the resuming of evictions that had been paused during COVID-19 and limited availability of affordable housing, could have contributed to this increase.
Homelessness reached an all-time high in 2024 at over 770,000 people.
Number of people experiencing homelessness, by sheltered status
