Honest Picture

The Data

The real numbers, in one place.

Everything on this site rests on publicly available research and government statistics. These are some of the headline figures we lean on most — each cited, each linkable, each open to your own scrutiny. Where the evidence is mixed, we say so.

Figures are approximate and rounded for readability; most are U.S. or OECD data, which is where the population research is strongest. Treat them as the shape of the distribution, not a precise measurement of your life.

Money & net worth

Public conversation is anchored to the top of the distribution. Here is closer to the middle of it.

~$39,000
Median net worth, U.S. households under 35
Federal Reserve SCF, 2022
~$135,600
Median net worth, U.S. households 35–44
Federal Reserve SCF, 2022
~$247,200
Median net worth, U.S. households 45–54
Federal Reserve SCF, 2022
~$80,610
Median U.S. household income
U.S. Census Bureau, 2023
~37%
U.S. adults who could not cover a $400 emergency from savings alone
Federal Reserve SHED, 2023
~4–5%
Recent U.S. personal saving rate (share of disposable income)
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Time & screens

How the average day actually divides — and where the hours quietly go.

~5 hrs
Average daily leisure time for U.S. adults
American Time Use Survey, 2023
~3–4 hrs
Average daily leisure screen time, U.S. adults
ATUS / Nielsen
~27 min
Average one-way commute in the U.S.
U.S. Census Bureau
~1,750
Average hours worked per year, across the OECD
OECD, 2023

Relationships & loneliness

One of the strongest predictors of wellbeing — and thinner than most people assume.

~3–4
Median number of close friends reported by U.S. adults
Survey Center on American Life, 2021
~12%
U.S. adults reporting no close friends — up sharply since 1990
Survey Center on American Life, 2021
⅓–½
Share of adults reporting meaningful loneliness, depending on survey
Cigna; Meta-Gallup, 2023

Work, health & meaning

What people actually report about engagement, health, and direction.

~21%
Workers worldwide who feel actively engaged at work
Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2023
Middle
Where most adults rate their own health — "good/very good", not "excellent"
U.S. CDC / BRFSS
U-shaped
Typical path of average life satisfaction across adulthood — a midlife dip, then recovery
Multiple longitudinal studies

Global context

The comparison almost no one makes — and the one that changes the picture most.

Top ~10–15%
Where a U.S.-median household income sits in the global income distribution
World Bank; Our World in Data
~$2,150
World Bank extreme-poverty line, per person per day (2017 PPP), at $2.15
World Bank, 2022
8.1 billion
People alive to be part of the actual distribution you belong to
UN, 2024 estimate

Full source list

  1. Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances (2022) — net worth by age.
  2. Federal Reserve, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households (SHED, 2023) — emergency expenses, financial fragility.
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, Income in the United States (2023) — household income distribution.
  4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey (2023) — leisure, screen time, time with friends, commuting.
  5. OECD, Average annual hours actually worked (2023).
  6. American Psychological Association, Stress in America surveys — money as a stressor.
  7. Survey Center on American Life, American Perspectives Survey (2021) — number of close friends.
  8. Cigna U.S. Loneliness Index (2018, 2021); Meta-Gallup, State of Social Connections (2023) — loneliness prevalence.
  9. Gallup, State of the Global Workplace — employee engagement.
  10. U.S. CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System — self-rated health and activity limitation.
  11. Nielsen Total Audience Report — media and screen exposure.

Figures are drawn from publicly available research, government statistics, and peer-reviewed studies. Where research is mixed or evolving, we say so. See our research methodology for how sources are selected and reviewed.