Fed reports US household net worth rises $12.8T in second quarter

American households got about $12.8 trillion richer between April and June, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Z.1 Financial Accounts report. The figure, published on September 11, represents household and nonprofit net worth as of June 30, 2026. It marks a staggering reversal from Q1 2026, when net worth barely budged, rising just $113 billion as equity market weakness offset gains in real estate values. From flatline to fireworks Total US household and nonprofit net worth now stands at approximately $183 trillion. That figure captures everything households own, from stocks and bonds to homes and bank accounts, minus what they owe. Gains of this magnitude tend to track equity market performance. For context, Q2 2025 saw a $7.1 trillion increase. This quarter nearly doubled that. The Z.1 report, formally known as the Financial Accounts of the United States, is published quarterly and serves as the most comprehensive snapshot of the nation’s household balance sheet. It measures assets minus liabilities, capturing wealth creation and destruction as they happen across the entire economy. What the numbers don’t say There’s also the distribution question. Household net worth is r...