Racial Income Gap Widens in 2025 Survey
New Federal Reserve data show median income for Black families fell from 2022 to 2025 while White family income rose.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Saving
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The Federal Reserve Board's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances shows the median before-tax income of Black families was $49,400 in 2025, compared with $95,300 for non-Hispanic White families. Median income for Black families decreased from 2022 to 2025, while non-Hispanic White median income rose by $7,600 over the same period.
Why it matters
The gap places Black families' median income at 51.8 percent of White families' median, a measure that signals persistent disparity in household finances across the United States. Wealth differences are larger still, with median family wealth for Black families at $36,800 against $332,100 for non-Hispanic White families.
The Federal Reserve's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances reports mean income of $77,700 for Black families versus $170,600 for non-Hispanic White families, a Black-to-White ratio of 45.5 percent. The data do not address how these gaps will change in future survey years.
The players
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The Washington-based governing body of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, which publishes the Survey of Consumer Finances.
The details
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System published the survey, which breaks down income, wealth, debt, and home equity by racial and ethnic group. Median income for non-Hispanic White families rose by $7,600 from 2022 to 2025, while median income for Black families declined over the same period.
Timeline
2022: Baseline year for the median income and wealth comparisons.
2025: Survey data year for the income and wealth figures.
Market Dynamics
The 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances extends the Federal Reserve's triennial series by updating racial income and wealth comparisons from the 2022 survey. It shows the Black-to-White median income ratio at 51.8 percent, with the gap in median family wealth substantially wider than the income gap.
Households with lower income and wealth have less capacity to build savings and withstand financial shocks, which affects their saving and borrowing options. Readers comparing their own finances to national medians can use these published benchmarks to gauge their position.
The takeaway
The survey shows that income and wealth gaps between Black and non-Hispanic White families remain large, so households tracking their finances may find these national benchmarks useful. Reviewing where your household stands against published medians can help guide savings goals.
Further reading
Explore more on household savings in the Saving section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
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