Household wealth in Great Britain: what the statistics show

The typical household in Great Britain had total wealth of £293,700 in the period April 2020 to March 2022, the most recent official figures show¹. That figure, known as the median, is the halfway point: half of households have more, half have less. It covers everything a household owns of value, from the family home and any buy-to-let property, through private pensions, to savings, investments and physical possessions, all measured after subtracting what is owed on them.

The same statistics show how unevenly that wealth is spread. The wealthiest 10% of households held £1,200,500 or more each, and together the wealthiest 1% held 10% of all household wealth in Great Britain, the same share as the least wealthy 50% of households combined¹. The figures come from the Wealth and Assets Survey, a long-running Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey, and the latest round is based on an achieved sample of 15,100 households¹.

What counts as household wealth: property, pensions, savings and possessions

Household wealth in these statistics is the sum of four components: net financial wealth, pension wealth, physical wealth and net property wealth². Each is measured at the household level, so the figures combine everything owned by everyone in the household, not just one person.

Net property wealth is the value of any property and land the household owns, minus mortgages and other debts secured on it. A household that rents its main home and owns nothing else counts as having zero property wealth from that home. In the latest period only a very small proportion of renters, 5%, had any property wealth at all¹. Net financial wealth covers savings, shares, bonds and other financial assets, minus non-mortgage debts such as credit cards and loans. Physical wealth covers possessions such as household contents, vehicles and collectables. Pension wealth covers private pensions, both those still building up and those already paying out.

Two things are deliberately left out. The pension figures cover private pensions only and do not include the value of state pension entitlements³. And the survey does not capture every form of wealth: some informal debts, offshore assets and complex trust structures cannot yet be measured by it⁴.

The median is used for most of these figures rather than the average (mean) because wealth data are highly skewed: a small number of very wealthy households would pull an average far above what a typical household actually holds⁴. Physical wealth is the exception, where means are used⁴.

Pensions and property make up three quarters of wealth

Property and private pensions dominate the wealth of British households. In April 2020 to March 2022, net property wealth made up the largest proportion of household wealth at 40%, followed by private pension wealth at 35%¹. Net financial wealth accounted for 14% and physical wealth 10%¹. Together, property and pensions are three quarters of the total.

The mix has shifted over time. In April 2018 to March 2020, private pension wealth was the largest component of total wealth at 42%, while financial wealth and physical wealth made up smaller proportions of 13% and 9% respectively⁵. Earlier rounds told the same story: in July 2012 to June 2014, private pension wealth and net property wealth together accounted for over three quarters of the aggregate total wealth of all households⁶.

Pension wealth itself is unevenly held. In July 2012 to June 2014, 76% of households had some private pension wealth, and the median private pension wealth of all households, including those with none, was £47,100⁷. Around 30% of households had pensions already in payment, with median wealth of £146,900, and 28% had wealth in current occupational defined benefit (DB) pensions, with median wealth of £85,500⁷. Among the very wealthiest, pensions are a large part of the picture: in April 2018 to March 2020 the top 1% of households held average (median) household pension assets of around £2 million⁵.

The composition also varies by region, because property values vary so much. Property wealth ranged from 30% of household wealth in the North East to much higher shares elsewhere in the latest period¹. For households that owned property in London, median net property wealth was £450,000, the highest among all regions⁵.

How wealth is spread: the top 10%, the top 1% and the bottom half

Wealth in Great Britain is far more concentrated than income. In April 2020 to March 2022 the Gini coefficient, a standard measure of inequality that runs from 0 (everyone equal) to 1 (one household holds everything), was 0.59 for household wealth but only 0.36 for disposable income¹.

The thresholds tell the story plainly. In April 2020 to March 2022, the wealthiest 10% of households had wealth of £1,200,500 or more, while the least wealthy 10% had £16,500 or less¹. The wealthiest 1% of households had wealth of at least £3,121,500¹. Earlier rounds show similar gaps: in July 2014 to June 2016 the top 10% threshold was £1,224,900 or more and the bottom 10% was £13,900 or less⁸, and in July 2012 to June 2014 the top 10% threshold was £1,048,500 or more⁶.

The share held by the top of the distribution has been stable for a long time. The top 10% wealth share was 45% in April 2016 to March 2018, largely unchanged since July 2006 to June 2008⁹. In that same period the top three wealth deciles held 76% of all wealth in Great Britain, while the bottom three deciles held 2%⁹. In the latest round, the wealthiest 1% of households held 10% of all household wealth, which was the same as the proportion held by the least wealthy 50% of households combined¹.

For the wealthiest 10% of households, the composition of wealth looks different from the typical household: net property wealth (38%) and private pension wealth (36%) made up most of their wealth in the latest period¹. In July 2012 to June 2014, households in the wealthiest 10% had median net property wealth of £420,000 and median net financial wealth of £154,000⁶.

Wealth by age of household: highest just before State Pension age

Wealth builds through a working life and peaks just before retirement. Median wealth was highest for households whose head was aged 55 years to under State Pension age, at £553,400 in April 2018 to March 2020, and the wealth of this group was 25 times higher than that of households aged 16 to 24 years⁵. The average (median) value of pension assets for households approaching State Pension age was just over £200,000⁵.

At the other end of the age range, pension wealth is barely started. Among people yet to retire, median wealth in pensions not yet accessed increased from £500 among people aged under 35 years to £37,600 for those aged 55 years to State Pension age, in April 2018 to March 2020¹⁰. Age also shows up in who holds the most: 68% of the top wealth quintile in July 2014 to June 2016 were aged 55 years and over¹¹.

Property wealth follows a similar pattern. For households with a head aged 55 to 64 years, average net property wealth was £255,800 in April 2016 to March 2018, and this was slightly higher, by 7%, for households where the head was over 65 years, at £272,900⁹.

Wealth by work status: employees, self-employed, retired and unemployed

Work status makes a large difference to household wealth. In April 2018 to March 2020, households where the head was retired were the wealthiest group, with median total wealth of £489,300, compared with £333,700 for households where the head was self-employed and £287,200 for households whose heads were employees⁵. Households where the head was unemployed or inactive but not retired had average total wealth of around £25,000, with most of these households not having property or private pensions⁵.

The averages for each group are much higher than the medians, which reflects the same skew in the wealth distribution: mean total wealth was £763,800 for retired-headed households, £626,000 for self-employed-headed households and £544,100 for employee-headed households in April 2018 to March 2020⁵.

Pension participation explains much of the gap between employees and the self-employed. In April 2018 to March 2020, 94% of employee-headed households had private pension wealth compared with 79% for the self-employed⁵. Among people approaching State Pension age, median wealth held in pensions not in payment was £91,400 for employees but only £16,100 for the self-employed¹⁰. The self-employed partly make up for this in property: self-employed people approaching State Pension age had higher median net property wealth, at £168,000, than employees, at £112,600¹⁰.

Employment sector matters too. In July 2012 to June 2014, 42% of private sector employees belonged to a current occupational pension scheme, with median wealth of £24,000, while 84% of public sector employees did, with median wealth of £61,600⁷.

Where you live: regional differences

Wealth varies sharply across Great Britain. In April 2018 to March 2020, household median wealth was highest in the South East at £503,400⁵. In April 2016 to March 2018 the ranking behind the South East was the South West at £372,600, London at £356,400 and the East of England at £348,800⁹.

The paths regions have taken since the survey began also differ. Between April 2018 and March 2020, the East and West Midlands saw the largest growth compared with the previous period, at 14% and 13% respectively in real terms, while London experienced a large decrease of 8% and Scotland saw a 12% decrease⁵. Over the longer run, the North East decreased the most since 2006, reducing by 17% in real terms, while the South East saw 43% growth since 2006, after adjusting for inflation⁵.

London's figures deserve particular care. The ONS notes that London estimates are particularly volatile and may require stricter quality thresholds, partly because over 50% of households in London are renters, compared with the England average of 38%, and renter-heavy areas carry greater uncertainty¹. The average age of first-time buyers in England was 34 years, which shapes how quickly younger London households can begin building property wealth at all¹.

Household wealth has risen slowly, with real falls in some rounds

Median household wealth has grown over the life of the survey, but not steadily. In April 2016 to March 2018, median household net wealth was £286,600, an increase of 9% in real terms from the previous period⁹. In April 2018 to March 2020, median household net wealth was £302,500⁵. In the latest round, April 2020 to March 2022, median household wealth fell to £293,700¹.

Excluding pension wealth, the recent picture is one of decline: median household wealth excluding private pension wealth was £181,700 in April 2020 to March 2022, a 4% reduction in real terms from £189,000 in April 2018 to March 2020¹. Median household financial wealth, by contrast, increased by £2,100, or 25% in real terms, to £10,400¹. Households who owned their property outright, and households with a head aged between 65 and 74 years, saw the largest increases in financial wealth¹.

The longer trend is upward. Median wealth in April 2018 to March 2020 was 20% higher in real terms than in July 2006 to June 2008, after adjusting for inflation⁵. An independent analysis notes that UK household wealth has doubled relative to incomes over the last 20 years, with older people benefiting disproportionately¹². The Resolution Foundation also observed that the Covid-19 pandemic was the first UK recession in at least 70 years in which wealth increased¹³.

Where the figures come from: the Wealth and Assets Survey

All of these figures come from the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS), launched in 2006, a biennial longitudinal survey conducted by the ONS⁴. It measures the well-being of households and individuals in terms of their assets, savings and debt, and it covers Great Britain rather than the whole UK: Northern Ireland is measured separately, and the survey's own exclusions apply. All WAS data prior to Round 9 cover Great Britain excluding addresses north of the Caledonian Canal, the Scottish Islands and the Isles of Scilly; from Round 9 onwards the survey covers Great Britain excluding the Isles of Scilly².

The survey ran in two-year "waves" from July 2006 to June 2008 until July 2014 to June 2016, then moved to two-year rounds aligned to the financial year, from April 2016 to March 2018 onwards⁴. Round 8, covering April 2020 to March 2022, was collected entirely by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic, with some income questions removed to shorten the survey¹. It is based on an achieved sample of 15,100 households, and no estimates are published that are based on fewer than 30 responding households¹.

The results are published in seven datasets as part of the Household total wealth in Great Britain release, alongside separate datasets on household debt and financial wealth⁴. Primary users include HM Revenue and Customs, the Scottish Government, the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Treasury and the Welsh Government, and researchers can access the microdata through the UK Data Service and the Secure Research Service².

What the statistics leave out and why they can mislead

The wealth figures are useful, but they have known limits, and the ONS itself sets them out.

First, timeliness. There are substantial delays between data collection and publication, such as the 34 month lag for Round 8, which reduces how current the figures are⁴. Round 9, covering April 2022 to March 2024, is undergoing post-collection data processing and quality assurance, with an expected release in 2026³.

Second, coverage. Some informal debts, offshore assets and complex trust structures cannot yet be captured by the survey⁴. Pension wealth covers private pensions only, excluding state pension entitlements³, so the retirement resources of households that rely mainly on the state pension are understated.

Third, measurement. Self-reported valuations of property and financial assets may be inaccurate, and property values in the WAS are typically higher than market-based sources such as the UK House Price Index and lender house price indices; the two are not directly comparable⁴. The WAS figures are also not directly comparable with national accounts measures of household wealth, though they provide a complementary perspective⁴.

Fourth, representativeness. Declining response rates reduce how representative the survey is, with differential non-response especially evident among renters and very high wealth households⁴. For Round 8, tenure was added as a calibration control to counteract selection bias that under-represented renters and over-represented households who own outright².

Fifth, comparability between rounds. The pension valuation method changed from Round 8: Defined Benefit pensions and pensions in payment are now valued using the Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience (SCAPE) discount rate, where previously a mix of SCAPE and market-based assumptions was used². Applying the updated model to the earlier round reduces the estimate of median household wealth for April 2018 to March 2020 to £282,200, or £292,200 in real terms¹. A back series for Round 7 using the updated methodology was released on 7 July 2026².

Finally, inflation adjustment. From Round 6 onwards, estimates are adjusted to average prices for the period covered by the round using the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH), so comparisons between rounds are in real terms⁴. For more on how that measure works, see CPI and CPIH, and for how inflation erodes the value of money over time, see what money was worth in the past.