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Report: Median net wealth of Mass. families at $370K. By Alison Kuznitz | State House News Service August 12, 2026 Massachusetts families held a median net wealth of more than $370,000 last year, according to a new study that found this metric varies dramatically across key factors like race, age, educational attainment, homeownership and place of residence. Just over a third of families also said they would be unable to cover a $400 emergency expense such as car repairs or an illness with cash or "its equivalent" in 2025, according to the report released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The Boston Fed worked with The Boston Foundation - plus the Barr Foundation, Eastern Bank Foundation and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce - on the Massachusetts Economic Conditions and Household Opportunity Survey that captures household assets and debts, and whether Bay Staters have sufficient wealth reserves to cope with "unstable prices or unexpected expenses." Sent to 32,817 randomly selected Massachusetts addresses, the survey yielded 5,018 responses. The survey highlighted long-standing racial wealth gaps. White families had an estimated median net wealth of $549,200, compared to $305,000 for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families. Median net wealth was just $1,200 for Hispanic families and $7,800 for Black families. About 41% of Hispanic families and 31% of Black families held zero or negative net wealth. "Having wealth is the ability to financially navigate an unexpected job loss, a serious illness, or buy and/or maintain a home," Barr Foundation CEO Ali Noorani said. "It is the difference between one's ability to live to their fullest potential and a trajectory that mires them in debt." Noorani said the swath of families who cannot afford a $400 emergency expense is "a clear indication to us that economic inequity is so deeply rooted that solutions can only be found in collaboration." The wealth gap can be alleviated, he said, as "sectors and ideologies" work to remove barriers and boost access to capital. In Greater Boston, 33.4% of families said they could not pay an unexpected $400 expense. That figure climbed to 50.1% for families in Gateway Cities. There are 26 Gateway Cities with populations ranging between 35,000 and 250,000 people, and median household incomes and average educational attainment rates that are below the state average, according to the report. Researchers examined various financial assets that contribute to net wealth, including checking, savings and money market accounts; certificates of deposits, stocks, bonds and mutual funds; workplace retirement accounts; IRA and Keough accounts; annuities and trusts; and cash value of life insurance. Non-financial assets include primary residence equity, other real estate equity, vehicle equity and business equity. For debts, researchers assessed credit card debt, student loan debt, medical debt, legal debt, loans from relatives and friends, and other installment loans. The report found the estimated median family net wealth was $374,000, but the 25th percentile was just $10,000. That means a quarter of the commonwealth's population had wealth at or below $10,000. Meanwhile, the 75th percentile was $1.09 million. Nearly 16% of respondents reported no wealth or "negative" wealth, in which their debts exceeded the value of their assets. High wealth was associated with factors like higher education levels, homeownership and families with older adults. For families in which a respondent or spouse/partner held a graduate degree, the median net wealth was $947,400. As for homeowners, median family net wealth was $790,500. Families in which the respondent or spouse/partner was 65+ held median net wealth of $702,500. Median net wealth was only $11,000 for families in which neither the respondent or spouse/partner earned higher than a high school diploma or GED. Renters held only $1,500 in wealth and younger families - in which the respondent or spouse/partner was under 45 - had $97,000. The report found median family wealth was highest in rural parts of Massachusetts ($465,000), but trailed closely by wealth in suburban areas ($447,100). In cities, the median family wealth was $110,000 and roughly a quarter of families held zero or negative net wealth. About a third of Massachusetts families had a will or estate plan, according to the report. "This well-designed, far-reaching, and rigorously documented survey by the Boston Fed allows us to face the challenge of equity with new vigor and knowledge that our work to strengthen homeownership, improve educational outcomes, and support small businesses can and will over time strengthen the economic well-being of people across the Commonwealth," Boston Foundation CEO Lee Pelton said. Alison Kuznitz is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach her at [email protected]. - Digital Partners -

Boston Fed report offers detailed picture of family wealth in Massachusetts. States News Service The following information was released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Survey of 5,018 respondents gives data by several subsets, including homeownership, race, education By Jay Lindsay August 12, 2026 A detailed survey of family wealth in Massachusetts has found an estimated median family net wealth of $374,000 and higher median wealth among those with more education, homeowners, those 65 or older, rural residents, and in white and Asian families. The survey was called the 2025 Massachusetts Economic Conditions and Household Opportunity Survey, or Mass ECHOS. The Family wealth in Massachusetts report, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, presents the findings from the MassECHOS survey of 5,018 respondents between March and December 2025. The report examines family wealth statewide, including among various geographies and population subsets. The report also measures which families have sufficient wealth to handle routine but potentially difficult expenses like car repairs or moving. And it finds that more than a third of families said they couldnt pay an unexpected $400 expense with the resources they had on hand. How are households faring? The survey was led by Beth Mattingly, an assistant vice president at the Boston Fed whose research focuses on family financial well-being. Mattingly said the report fills in longtime data gaps about wealth in Massachusetts. A lot of data exist about income, but we dont know as much about wealth, even though its so critical to family economic stability, she said. This report doesn't try to explain why household wealth is distributed the way it is in Massachusetts, but it gives us a much more comprehensive look at it. Mattingly added the Fed has a mandate from Congress to pursue price stability and maximum employment in the U.S. economy. She said understanding how households are faring is important to that because broad economic indicators can mask whats happening at the household level. A study like this reveals a lot, she said. Its something we think can be a resource to everyone that wants to understand economic conditions, including the challenges and opportunities. Beyond the Federal Reserve, we think the survey results can be helpful to the private sector, elected officials, and nonprofit or philanthropic groups working to increase family economic opportunity." Detailed understanding supports opportunities for progress Mass ECHOS was conducted in collaboration with The Boston Foundation and its strategic partners, the Barr Foundation, Eastern Bank Foundation, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. "This survey provides an unprecedented exploration of household wealth in Massachusetts, highlighting both our collective strength and the stark differences in wealth between and within various groups, said Lee Pelton, president and CEO of The Boston Foundation. It is robust, independent research that will inform and spark the kind of collaborative solutions we need to improve the lives of all Massachusetts families," he said. James E. Rooney, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, said the new report provides a comprehensive, statewide overview of family wealth that will help people understand wealth-building and economic mobility across the region. "The future of our Commonwealth depends on every family throughout the state being able to access careers, grow a business, and build generational wealth," Rooney said. "With this new report, we are able to better understand the needs and opportunities of communities and how we can offer transformative initiatives and programs to uplift families in Massachusetts." Report is a descriptive analysis, aimed for empirical rigor The Federal Reserve System has a long history of survey-based data collection and research, including the Survey of Consumer Finances and the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking. Mass ECHOS comes a decade after a 2015 Boston Fed report that surveyed Boston households and pointed to the benefits of a more comprehensive study of household finances not just in Boston, but across Massachusetts. The focus of the new report reflects the unique size and depth of the surveys sample, according to Boston Fed Executive Vice President and Community Affairs Officer Prabal Chakrabarti. "We wanted to concentrate on developing and analyzing an unusually rich data set," he said. Chakrabarti said its important to remember the surveys estimates are just that estimates: The survey is based on self-reports. He added the report is whats known as a descriptive analysis. It gives you a picture of the state of family wealth in Massachusetts during a specific point in time, Chakrabarti said. At the Federal Reserve, were not trying to predict what happens next or explain why that picture looks how it looks. But I think the detail we can give is enlightening. Key findings describe wealth attainment and divergence A familys net wealth was calculated by collecting survey data on their assets (money in the bank, stock and bonds, etc.) and then subtracting their debts (student loans, accrued credit card debt, etc.). The report distinguishes between wealth thats liquid, meaning in assets that are easily accessed, like savings accounts, or quasi-liquid and harder to access because its tied up in things like workplaces retirement accounts. It also looked at equity held in cars, homes, businesses, etc. The reports key metric was median family net wealth, which is the midpoint wealth level where half the families are at or below that level. The reports authors considered the median more accurate than the average, or mean, because the median is not influenced by extreme outliers. So, the median net wealth for all families of $374,000 is taken at the 50th percentile of all families surveyed. But the report also looked at family wealth along the broad range of survey results. For instance, at the 25th percentile family wealth was $10,000 (75% of people had more wealth, 25% are at or below that value). At the 75th percentile, family wealth was $1.09 million. High estimated median family net wealth was associated with: Families with higher education levels. Those with a respondent or spouse/partner with a graduate degree had family net wealth of about $947,400. Homeowners: $790,500 Those with a respondent or spouse/partner 65 or older: $702,500 Families living in rural areas: $465,000 White families: $549,200 Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander families: $305,000 Those with lowest estimated median family net wealth included: Families with less than a high school education: $1,100 Families with no respondent who had more than high school degree or a GED: $11,000 Renters: $1,500 Those with a respondent or spouse/partner under 45: $97,000 Families living in cities: $110,000 Black families: $7,800 Hispanic families: $1,200 Mass ECHOS survey assesses family wealth by geography, ability to cover expenses The subsets examined in the report include smaller populations and geographies in Massachusetts. One of those areas was Greater Boston, which includes the city and surrounding communities with close economic ties to it. Another geographic area encompassed all the Gateway Cities," which are 26 cities (some in Greater Boston) that are eligible for the states economic development incentive program due to factors such as lower rates of education and income. To give a sense of how wealth is used, the reports authors calculated whether respondents had the net wealth to pay certain expenses, including the costs of car repairs and moving to a new apartment. The authors highlighted these particular expenses, because both may be crucial to getting to a job or taking a new job. So, for example, the report suggested that about 18.3% of respondents across Massachusetts didnt have sufficient wealth to pay the national average car repair expense of $838. In Greater Boston, the share was similar, at about 19.1%, and in Gateway Cities, about 28.3% of families couldnt cover this cost. In a related inquiry, the survey asked the so-called $400 question: whether families had sufficient wealth to pay an unexpected $400 expense with cash or its equivalent. In Massachusetts in 2025, an estimated 35.4% of families could not. The survey also explored the importance of inheritances, which are commonly thought of as a key source of generational wealth. But the Mass ECHOS survey data indicates they are relatively rare. An estimated 1-in-7 families (13.4%) have received one or more monetary gifts or inheritances, and about 1-in-6 (15.9%) expect to receive an inheritance in the future. It was important to document certain sources of wealth, Mattingly said. Overall, we just needed to better understand family wealth across the economic spectrum. We think this report helps us do that.