The best investment on Earth is … earth.
So much so that homeowners are a whopping 43 times wealthier than renters, according to a 2025 estimate from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, as reported by Realtor.com.
The data revealed that US homeowners are enjoying a median net worth of $430,000. By comparison, renters are holding onto pocket change, with just $10,000 to the name of the median tenant.
The issue of the wealth gap between owners and renters was highlighted last week in Washington, DC at the 2026 REALTORS Legislative Meetings.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, told conference attendees that property owners saw their wealth grow by an estimated 45% since 2019.
That’s 9 percentage points higher than renters, who’ve found their bank accounts stalling. The wealth of the median renter actually shrunk by $400 since 2022.
Real estate is popularly seen as one of the best investments anyone can make, and the truth of this sentiment has played out over the past several years of rapid price appreciation, Realtor.com reported.
Hannah Jones, the company’s senior economic research analyst, explained how homeowners have been substantially enriched over the last five years.
“Rapid price appreciation also gave existing homeowners the opportunity to cash in on home equity and level up into a larger or more desirable home, while renters were not able to take advantage of recent housing market dynamics in the same way,” Jones told the outlet.
For most renters, leases are a necessity rather than a choice, with just 15% of those surveyed reporting that they prefer renting over homeownership.
Yet declining housing affordability is keeping renters under the auspices of landlords. A recent analysis of census data found that renters are outnumbering homeowners in a growing number of New Jersey suburbs.
Eager homebuyers are still hamstrung, in part, by high interest rates and high home costs. While it’s still possible to snag a home under $300,000 in some metros, young people are largely falling behind as homeowners.
The newest Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial financial survey of thousands of families, is currently underway. The final results, expected in mid to late 2026, will reveal fresh insights into how the tumultuous economy of the past three years has impacted the wallets — and living conditions — of Americans.