/// THIS WEEK
Earners,
When you’re in your 20s, what does being rich and being poor look like? The answer might surprise you.
This week, we’re breaking down what wealth actually looks like for young adults in their 20s; comparing a bottom 10% net worth to a top 10% net worth, and what the gap between them really comes down to.
Spoiler: it’s probably not what you think.
[ INSIGHT ]
Meet Andrew. He’s 25, lives in Los Angeles, has a college degree, and works full-time at a marketing agency. He earns in the low-to-mid $40,000s - right around the median for his age group. After taxes, he takes home approximately $2,700 to $2,900 a month.
His net worth is -$15,000. That puts him in the bottom 10% of people under 30.
But here’s the thing: he’s barely behind the average.
Andrew rents a room in a shared apartment for $1,200 a month, a relative bargain in a city where a one-bedroom now averages over $2,300. He carries student loan debt, approximately $30,000, like many borrowers his age. He has some credit card debt he’s been meaning to clear (not really from careless spending, just from life getting in the way). His checking account holds a few thousand dollars. Enough to stay afloat but not enough to absorb a real shock.
Now meet Stefan. Also 25, third-year investment banking analyst in New York City. Total compensation between $250,000 and $300,000. Net worth is around $300,000 - the top 10% of people under 30. He carries no debt, maxes his retirement accounts, and has enough cash reserves that if his income stopped tomorrow, nothing would immediately change. Before college, he ran a small business that covered tuition and reduced his debt load. He opened his first brokerage account at 18. When the high income arrived, the habits were already there.
Both are on Instagram every day. Andrew sees people his age with new cars and weekend trips, wondering how they’re doing it. Stefan sees founders in their early 30s walking away with eight-figure outcomes, questioning whether he’s on the right path. Different reference points, same feeling of being behind. Social media is really good at showing the spending, and it excels at making you feel like you’re losing.
/// DATA
Median net worth for someone under 30: $15,000 - $30,000. A significant portion sits at zero or below, even among the fully employed.
Average student loan balance for borrowers under 30: ~$30,000, with housing costs eating past 30-40% of take-home pay for most young renters.
[ BREAKDOWN ]
The spread in your 20s is enormous, but the average is much lower than most people assume. The bottom 10% and the median are surprisingly close together; most people are clustered near zero, which means Andrew isn’t a cautionary tale, he’s basically the norm.
What separates Stefan isn’t just income; it’s the absence of drag. No student loans eating into cash flow, no credit card interest compounding quietly in the background, no single emergency wiping out months of progress. Every dollar he earns has somewhere productive to go. For most people in their 20s, the real game is reducing drag.
[ TAKEAWAY ]
The median net worth for someone in your age group is lower than social media would have you believe, which means most people are closer to Andrew than Stefan. And that’s completely normal. The goal in your 20s isn’t to get rich, it’s to build good habits that allow you to have flexibility and freedom. Time is doing more than you think. The earlier you get out of your own way, the more it compounds in your favour.
Earn more,
TCE
[ MONEY TIP OF THE WEEK ]
This week, calculate your actual net worth. Add up everything you own: cash, investments, retirement accounts, etc. Then subtract everything you owe. Most people have never done this, and it’s hard to improve a number you’ve never looked at.
To watch the featured episode, check out the video below:
