Americans' net worth surged by a record 37% from 2019-2022

Americans' net worth surged at a historic pace from 2019 to 2022, a reflection of the pandemic era's tremendous economic swings and the wealth generated from homeownership and financial assets, according to Federal Reserve data released Wednesday.

Real, or inflation-adjusted, median net worth swelled by 37% in 2022 from the pre-pandemic 2019, according to the Fed's latest Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial survey that's been conducted since 1989 to comprehensively measure income, net worth, credit use, debt and other financial outcomes for American families.

Although backwards-looking, the Fed report details the financial foundation behind the continued resilience that's fueled US economic growth and jettisoned recession predictions.

However, the latest iteration of the survey also showed that income inequality widened and housing became increasingly unaffordable during this most recent three-year period, reinforcing previously released economic data and Americans' lived experiences.

Still, the survey allowed Fed researchers to delve deeper into the finances of racial and ethnic groups - including breaking out data specific to Asian Americans for the first time - and into families' pandemic experiences.

Despite Black families experiencing the largest growth in median net wealth - a 60% bump from 2019 - their 2022 levels remained the lowest among all other racial or ethnic groups, and they also saw incomes falter.

White, non-Hispanic respondents' incomes grew by 1% during that time, while Black and Hispanic/Latino respondents' incomes fell by 2% and 1%, respectively.