The Average Wealth in the US vs. 7 European Countries

Preston Hartwick
alxpin / Getty Images
alxpin / Getty Images

The United States is generally considered a wealthy country by many people in the world. But the country’s unequal wealth distribution is overlooked by those just considering the national wealth average.

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Take a look at how the U.S. stacks up against European countries in terms of wealth per person and wealth distribution.

Also see the U.S. states with the most income inequality.

What Does the Difference Between Average and Median Wealth Tell Us About Wealth Distribution?

When evaluating statistics, it’s essential to understand the difference between “average” — also referred to as the “mean” — and “median.”

The average (mean) is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing by the number of values. For example, the average of dataset 3, 7 and 8 is 6. Median is the middle value when all data points are arranged in order from low to high. For example, the median of 3, 7 and 8 is 7.

In the context of discussions about wealth per person, the difference between the mean and median can tell you a great deal about the way wealth is distributed across the total population of a country.

Average (mean) wealth can be significantly inflated by extremely wealthy individuals. For instance, a country with a high number of billionaires might have a high average wealth value even if the majority of the country has less wealth.

Median wealth is often considered a better indicator of a population’s wealth because it represents the exact middle of the wealth distribution dataset. The presence of a few billionaires at the high end of the scale won’t skew the median upward.

By examining both the mean and median wealth values and understanding what they represent, you can get a more accurate picture of a country’s wealth distribution.

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U.S. Wealth per Person

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $551,347

  • Median wealth per adult: $107,739

The U.S. is ranked second among countries when it comes to average wealth per adult, but it drops all the way down to 12th in terms of median wealth per adult.

According to this data, the U.S. has the steepest gap between mean and median wealth of any country in the world. Median wealth per adult is a staggering 80.5% lower than average wealth levels.

There are many factors that go into wealth distribution, but the large gap between mean and median wealth shows that wealth ownership is heavily concentrated in the hands of the country’s richest demographic.

Wealth per Person in Europe

And for comparison, here is the mean and median wealth per adult in seven European countries.

Switzerland

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $685,226

  • Median wealth per adult: $167,353

Switzerland is the only country in the world wealthier than the U.S. when measured by average wealth per adult. Like the U.S., Switzerland has a large wealth gap, with the median wealth per adult falling around 76% lower than the average wealth per adult.

Denmark

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $409,954

  • Median wealth per adult: $186,041

A relatively small country, Denmark ranks fourth in both mean and median wealth per adult. It ranks much higher on the list for median wealth than the U.S. due to having a narrower gap between mean and median wealth.

Belgium

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $352,814

  • Median wealth per adult: $249,937

According to this data, Belgium has the least wealth disparity of any country, with the median wealth about 29% lower than the average. It tops the list as the country with the highest median wealth per adult, which stands in stark contrast to the wide wealth gap in the U.S.

United Kingdom

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $302,783

  • Median wealth per adult: $151,825

The U.K. ranks 12th in terms of average wealth per adult, but it jumps up to sixth for median wealth per adult. Its median wealth per adult is over $44,000 higher than that of the U.S.

Spain

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $224,209

  • Median wealth per adult: $107,507

Despite having an average wealth per adult that’s less than half that of the U.S., Spain’s median wealth is almost equal to that of the U.S. So while there may be less overall wealth in Spain, it’s spread across the population more equally.

Greece

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $105,724

  • Median wealth per adult: $53,501

Greece ranks 25th in both average and median wealth per adult. The median wealth is around 50% lower than the average wealth, which is a relatively large gap but much narrower than the U.S. gap.

Russia

  • Mean (average) wealth per adult: $39,514

  • Median wealth per adult: $8,595

Compared with the U.S., Russia is a much less wealthy country in terms of average and median wealth per adult. However, like the U.S., it has significant wealth disparity. Median wealth per adult falls 78% lower than average wealth, ranking it third behind the U.S. and South Africa for countries with the biggest gaps.

Data is from the 2023 UBS Global Wealth Report and was reported by Visual Capitalist.

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