Households with Zero or Negative Net Worth

Millions of American households have zero or even negative net worth, meaning the amount of money they owe equals or exceeds their assets. Twenty million households—16 percent of all households—are on this bottom rung of the net worth ladder, according to the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation. These are their demographic characteristics...

• By age, the youngest householders are most likely to have zero or negative net worth. Among householders under age 35, a substantial 30 percent have no wealth. At the other extreme, householders aged 75 or older are least likely to have zero wealth (6 percent).
• By race and Hispanic origin, Households headed by Blacks are most likely to have zero or negative net worth (29 percent). Asian households are least likely to have no wealth (8 percent). 
• By education, 27 percent of households without any member who has a high school diploma have zero or negative net worth. Households with at least one member who has a graduate degree are least likely to be without wealth (11 percent).
• By income, 29 percent of households in the lowest income quintile have zero or negative net worth. This compares with just 5 percent of households in the highest income quintile. 
• By homeownership status, 34 percent of renters have zero or negative net worth versus just 5 percent of homeowners.

Source: Census Bureau, Wealth, Asset Ownership, and Debt of Households Detailed Tables: 2015