Essential Wealth: A New Benchmark for Financial Security

<div class="header alignfull header--article header--min-height-full has-background has-blue-diagonal-gradient-background"> <div class="header__layout"> <div class="header__content"> <div class="header__metadata"><div class="header__metas"><div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-category"> Publications</div></div></div> <h1 class="header__title has-h2-variant">Archives</h1> <div class="header__metadata"><div class="header__metas"><div class="favorite-block"> <button class="favorite" data-id="237743" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" /></svg></button></div> <div class="header__meta header__meta--date"> June 22, 2026</div> <div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-program_tax"> Financial Security Program</div></div></div> </div> </div> <figure class="header__media" role="presentation"> </figure> </div> <div class="wp-block-group alignwide is-style-default has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-container-core-group-is-layout-63928485 wp-block-group-is-layout-flow" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <div class="wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-e1a2089c wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-82781c74 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="border-top-color:var(--wp--preset--color--tonal-black);border-top-width:8px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-right:0;flex-basis:33.33%"> <div style="padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);" class="post-people"> <div class="post-people__person"> <figure class="post-people__headshot"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Melford-Genevieve-e1736370901385-300x300.jpg" class="attachment-mobile size-mobile" alt="" srcset="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Melford-Genevieve-e1736370901385-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Melford-Genevieve-e1736370901385-800x800.jpg 800w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Melford-Genevieve-e1736370901385-1500x1500.jpg 1500w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Melford-Genevieve-e1736370901385-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Melford-Genevieve-e1736370901385-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Melford-Genevieve-e1736370901385-1090x1090.jpg 1090w, 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src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-240x300.jpg" class="attachment-mobile size-mobile" alt="Steven Brown headshot" srcset="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-240x300.jpg 240w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-640x800.jpg 640w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-1200x1500.jpg 1200w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-768x960.jpg 768w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-872x1090.jpg 872w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-960x1200.jpg 960w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-540x675.jpg 540w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-541x676.jpg 541w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Brown-Steven-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" style="object-position: 49% 14%" /> </figure> <div class="post-people__info"> <h3 class="post-people__name"> <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/steven-brown/" class="post-people__link"> Steven Brown </a> </h3> <p class="post-people__position"> Director of Insights and Evidence </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group has-primary-wash-background-color has-background is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6ef39980 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant" id="h-contents">Contents</h2> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button is-style-plain-text"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#h-why-wealth-is-essential"><span>Why Wealth Is Essential<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down" role="img" focusable="false" height="24" width="24"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down"/></svg></a></div> </div> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button is-style-plain-text"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#h-what-is-essential-wealth"><span>What Is Essential Wealth?<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down" role="img" focusable="false" height="24" width="24"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down"/></svg></a></div> </div> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button is-style-plain-text"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#h-how-many-americans-have-essential-wealth"><span>How Many Americans HAve Essential Wealth?<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down" role="img" focusable="false" height="24" width="24"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down"/></svg></a></div> </div> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button is-style-plain-text"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#h-how-we-got-here"><span>How WE Got Here<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down" role="img" focusable="false" height="24" width="24"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down"/></svg></a></div> </div> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button is-style-plain-text"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#h-how-can-i-use-this-metric"><span>How Can I use This Metric?<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down" role="img" focusable="false" height="24" width="24"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down"/></svg></a></div> </div> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button is-style-plain-text"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="#h-what-comes-next"><span>What Comes Next<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down" role="img" focusable="false" height="24" width="24"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down"/></svg></a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="border-top-color:#1b162130;border-top-width:2px;border-right-style:none;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-style:none;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-style:none;border-left-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);flex-basis:66.66%"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h3-variant" id="h-why-wealth-is-essential">Why Wealth Is Essential</h2> <p class="">When asked what is essential to their American Dream, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/10/31/most-think-the-american-dream-is-within-reach-for-them/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most Americans named</a> freedom of choice, a good family life, a comfortable retirement, and a home of their own.&nbsp;</p> <p class="">All of these aspirations require wealth to achieve. Retiring comfortably requires accumulated savings and assets. Owning a home requires a down payment and the ability to sustain it. The freedom to make choices—to change jobs, to move closer to loved ones, to handle a medical bill, to invest in a child&#8217;s education—requires a financial cushion that income alone cannot provide.&nbsp;</p> <p class="">In short, wealth is not just for the wealthy. It is necessary for everyone, and essential throughout their lives.&nbsp;</p> <p class="">But a lack of clarity of what constitutes “enough” wealth leads to challenges in creating actionable and effective policies and wealth-building tools for families—and to knowing when we’ve succeeded.</p> <p class=""><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/measuring-essential-wealth-primer-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aspen FSP’s work over the past year</a> to develop a new benchmark for sufficient wealth aims to fill that gap and deliver a new way to measure what families need not just to survive, but to thrive.&nbsp;</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p class="has-xlarge-variant"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-light-color">The headline finding is stark: The vast majority of American households—three out of four—do not have essential wealth.</mark></p> </blockquote> <p class="">This resource introduces the <a href="#h-what-is-essential-wealth">essential wealth concept and metric</a>, explains <a href="#h-how-we-got-here">how we developed this measurement approach</a>, and analyzes national data to pinpoint how many U.S. households do not have the wealth they need.&nbsp;</p> <p class="">This metric is the result of rigorous research and analysis, but it is also a practical tool designed for action. Our aim is for leaders to use this metric to focus their wealth-building strategies and scale impact, and to partner with us to accelerate its deployment.</p> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Essential-Wealth-ML-v-FINAL-260622.pdf">Download Full Report<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <div class="wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" id="OBBBA-changes" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h3-variant" id="h-what-is-essential-wealth">What Is Essential Wealth?</h2> <p class="">People’s financial goals and aspirations map onto three core functions of wealth—resilience, prosperity, and well-being—which we take as the basis for defining and measuring “enough” wealth. The essential wealth metric is designed to account for and measure all three of these complementary functions, and it also takes into account how wealth needs vary across life stages and geographies.&nbsp;</p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant" id="h-key-milestones">Key Milestones</h5> <p class="">This framework identifies 3 key milestones on the path to essential wealth.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="844" style="object-position:50% 50%" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/The-Path-to-Wealth-V1-3-1500x844.png" alt="A path is cut into four segments with three milestones along the path. the first is Asset Poverty Line. The second is Emergent Wealth, and the Third is Essential Wealth. An arrow indicates that as people move along the path toward essential wealth, their resilience, prosperity, and well-being increase." class="wp-image-237922"/></figure> <div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9a4c8acf wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small)"> <p class="has-h5-variant"><strong>1. Asset Poverty Line</strong></p> <p class="">The asset poverty line reflects whether a household has enough wealth to subsist at the federal poverty line for three months without any income. It is the wealth equivalent of the income poverty rate—a baseline below which families cannot weather even a brief disruption. Households in or near asset poverty do not have reliable financial security.</p> <p class="has-h5-variant"><strong>2. Emergent Wealth</strong></p> <p class="">Emergent wealth is the baseline for meaningful resilience and the foundation for growing prosperity. At this milestone, families have enough liquid savings to handle a typical expense shock and enough net worth to hold a meaningful amount of at least a primary appreciating asset or more modest ownership across multiple assets.</p> <p class="has-h5-variant"><strong>3. Essential Wealth</strong></p> <p class="">Essential wealth is the level at which families hold multiple appreciating assets at levels that allow them to comfortably take risks and plan for the future. And, it marks the transition to wealth that begins to compound across generations.</p> </div> <p class="">What’s more, each milestone maps to the <a href="https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201512_cfpb_financial-well-being-user-guide-scale.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s Financial Well-Being Scale</a>; <strong>above the asset poverty line</strong> corresponds to lower financial well-being, <strong>emergent wealth</strong> to medium-to-high, and <strong>essential wealth</strong> to high. The metric also accounts for wealth needs across different life stages and geographies and complements existing approaches to understanding financial sufficiency, such as the Living Wage Calculator.&nbsp;</p> </div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <div class="wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" id="OBBBA-changes" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h3-variant" id="h-how-many-americans-have-essential-wealth">How Many Americans Have Essential Wealth?</h2> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p class="has-xlarge-variant"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-primary-light-color">Just 26 percent of households have enough wealth to experience resilience, prosperity, and well-being.</mark></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="844" style="object-position:50% 50%" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/The-Path-to-Wealth-V1-4-1500x844.png" alt="A pillar categorizes four segments of people based on wealth: below asset poverty, above asset poverty, emergent wealth, and essential wealth. Boxes show that 14% of Americans are below asset poverty, 43% are above asset poverty, 17% have emergent wealth, and 26% have essential wealth." class="wp-image-237923"/></figure> </blockquote> <p class="">Fewer than half of U.S. households clear even the emergent wealth threshold, having attained either emergent or essential wealth. The largest share of households (43 percent) has escaped asset poverty but stalled short of a foundational level of savings and wealth—a sign that for most Americans the challenge is not escaping acute fragility, but moving from barely getting by to building durable security.</p> </div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <div class="wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" id="OBBBA-changes" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h3-variant" id="h-how-we-got-here">How We Got Here</h2> <p class="">Aspen FSP developed this metric with collaboration and feedback from a number of philanthropic, research, and practitioner partners. We based our work on what it looks like to have enough savings for typical shocks and also have the net worth necessary to support ownership and investment in life-enhancing assets. And we aligned what having these levels of savings and assets would mean for subjective financial well-being, taking into account different ages as well.</p> <p class="">For more about this process, <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Essential-Wealth-ML-v-FINAL-260622.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">see page 6 of the report</a>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="842" style="object-position:50% 50%" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/342A1988-1-1500x842.jpg" alt="A group of people sit around a table in discussion at an event. White boards and notepads are seen in the background." class="wp-image-162987"/></figure> <p class=""><em>Think tank researchers, investors, consumer finance leaders, nonprofit service providers, and local government leaders participate in the convening hosted by Aspen FSP and with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in September 2025. Courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.</em></p> </div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <div class="wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" id="OBBBA-changes" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h3-variant" id="h-how-can-i-use-this-metric" style="padding-bottom:0">How Can I Use This Metric?</h2> <p class="">This metric is designed not just as a research output but as a practical tool for leaders to clarify what they’re building toward, design more effective interventions, and measure progress.&nbsp;</p> <div class="wp-block-group has-primary-wash-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <div class="tabs tabs--nav-top"> <div class="tabs__layout"> <button type="button" class="tabs__nav-current"> <span>Making the Case</span> <svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down" role="img" focusable="false" height="16" width="16"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-angle-down"/></svg> </button> <div class="tabs__nav" role="tablist" aria-orientation="horizontal"> <button class="tabs__nav-item" id="tab-making-the-case" role="tab" aria-controls="panel-making-the-case" aria-selected="false" tabindex="-1"> <span>Making the Case</span> </button> <button class="tabs__nav-item" id="tab-scoping-and-designing-solutions" role="tab" aria-controls="panel-scoping-and-designing-solutions" aria-selected="false" tabindex="-1"> <span>Scoping and Designing Solutions</span> </button> <button class="tabs__nav-item" id="tab-tracking-impact" role="tab" aria-controls="panel-tracking-impact" aria-selected="false" tabindex="-1"> <span>Tracking Impact</span> </button> </div> <div class="tabs__tabs"> <div aria-labelledby="tab-making-the-case" id="panel-making-the-case" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0" class="tabs__tab"><div class="tabs__tab-content"> <div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="border-top-color:var(--wp--preset--color--primary-wash);border-top-width:3px;border-right-style:none;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-style:none;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-style:none;border-left-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small)"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant" id="h-making-the-case">Making the Case</h3> <p class="">Wealth-building investments often face an implicit comparison: dollars spent on assets versus dollars spent on immediate needs like food, housing, and energy. The essential wealth metric offers a way to argue that families need both, not one first and then the other later. It also makes clear that no single asset class can do it all, as reaching essential wealth typically requires a diverse portfolio of appreciating assets—home equity, retirement savings, and other investments working together—rather than outsized reliance on any one vehicle.&nbsp;</p> <p class="">In practice, this could look like:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li class="">A <strong>nonprofit program leader</strong> working to expand a renter cash back and savings initiative can ground that argument in concrete, population-level data.</li> <li class="">A <strong>philanthropic funder</strong> evaluating a portfolio of asset-building programs can use the thresholds to ask whether participants are reaching balances that approach emergent wealth.</li> </ul> </div> </div></div> <div aria-labelledby="tab-scoping-and-designing-solutions" id="panel-scoping-and-designing-solutions" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0" class="tabs__tab"><div class="tabs__tab-content"> <div class="wp-block-group is-style-default is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="border-top-color:var(--wp--preset--color--primary-wash);border-top-width:3px;border-right-style:none;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-style:none;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-style:none;border-left-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small)"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant" id="h-scoping-and-designing-solutions">Scoping and Designing Solutions</h3> <p class="">Once the case is made, the framework helps leaders match the right tools to the right households, asking sharper questions about which interventions move which households across which thresholds.</p> <p class="">In practice this could look like:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li class=""><strong>Government and program leaders</strong> designing children’s savings accounts, like 530A Accounts or baby bond programs, can design deposit and contribution amounts to move children up to a specific target, such as emergent wealth—or even essential wealth—rather than to amounts that leave participants short of any meaningful milestone at age 18.</li> <li class=""><strong>Funders</strong> can identify regions where emergent wealth is structurally out of reach and prioritize efforts to support more affordable pathways to asset building through shared ownership.</li> <li class=""><strong>Advocates and leaders</strong> focused on closing the racial wealth gap can identify which pathways, such as lowering educational costs, reducing student loan debt, or strengthening retirement and lifelong investing efforts, offer the largest leverage points.&nbsp;</li> </ul> </div> </div></div> <div aria-labelledby="tab-tracking-impact" id="panel-tracking-impact" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0" class="tabs__tab"><div class="tabs__tab-content"> <div class="wp-block-group is-style-default is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="border-top-color:var(--wp--preset--color--primary-wash);border-top-width:3px;border-right-style:none;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-style:none;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-style:none;border-left-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small)"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant" id="h-tracking-impact">Tracking Impact</h3> <p class="">With programs in place, the essential wealth metric can also help track their progress. Ongoing analysis of existing data can update general trends, and additional impact modeling that builds on these thresholds can gauge whether larger programs are moving the needle.</p> </div> </div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <div class="wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" id="OBBBA-changes" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h3-variant" id="h-what-comes-next" style="padding-bottom:0">What Comes Next?</h2> <p class="">Now that we know what households need, we have an opportunity to do something big about it. Together, we can apply these new insights to program and policy development, modeling, and evaluation.&nbsp;</p> <p class="">The data make clear that the majority of Americans are navigating an economy in which building the wealth they need is structurally out of reach—not for lack of effort, but for lack of the right conditions, tools, and investments working together.</p> <p class="">The essential wealth metric gives us a sharper way to see that gap and a more precise way to close it for families who need a foundation to weather shocks, seize opportunities, and build something lasting; and for leaders who want their investments to actually move the needle.</p> <p style="padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--xsmall)" class="">We urge funders, policymakers, and partners to join us in turning these measures into action—because getting this right, at scale, is both possible and necessary.</p> </div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <div class="wp-block-group has-primary-wash-background-color has-background is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a39eae91 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h3-variant" id="h-acknowledgements">Acknowledgements</h2> <p class="">This report is a product of Aspen FSP. Aspen FSP thanks Gary Community Ventures, Prudential Financial, Surdna Foundation, and World Education Services for their generous support of Aspen FSP for this work. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this report—as well as any errors—are Aspen FSP’s alone and do not necessarily represent the views of its funders or other participants in our research process.&nbsp;</p> <p class="">Thank you to the colleagues both within and outside Aspen FSP who generously shared their expertise, participated in our research process, and provided critical feedback as we developed the essential wealth metric. Special thanks to Marija Bingulac and Marybeth Mattingly from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Jill Hawley and Julie Stone from Gary Community Ventures, Clint Key from Key Evidence &amp; Insights, and Hector Ortiz of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for their thought partnership on the development of this metric. We are grateful to the dozens of others who shared their expertise, ideas, and feedback with us during the September 2025 Convening on Measuring U.S. Household Essential Wealth, in one-one-conversations, and in feedback on drafts versions of this work. And we also offer our appreciation to Christopher Roudiez for helpful research assistance.</p> <p class="">Finally, thank you to our Aspen FSP colleagues Ida Rademacher, Joanna Smith-Ramani, Devin Murphy, Jason Ewas, Katherine Lucas McKay, Bianca Lopez, Shehryar Nabi, Julia Rocchi, and MegAnne Liebsch for thought partnership, research assistance, and communication support.</p> </div> <div class="card-slider alignfull has-grid-spacing-small"><div class="card-slider__nav"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant" id="h-related">Related</h2> <button type="button" class="card-slider__go card-slider__go--back" aria-label="Previous"> <svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-arrow-left" role="img" focusable="false" height="0" width="0"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-arrow-left"/></svg> </button> <button type="button" class="card-slider__go card-slider__go--forward" aria-label="Next"> <svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-arrow-right" role="img" focusable="false" height="0" 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Learn more about his work in this Q&amp;A.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="162596" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>January 8, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/devin-murphy/">Devin Murphy</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card"> <div class="dyn-card__wrap"> <div class="dyn-card__media"> <figure class="dyn-card__image"> <a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/measuring-essential-wealth-primer-2025/" tabindex="-1"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="842" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/342A2020-1500x842.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Post-it notes cover a wall during a brainstorm activity" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a> </figure> <div class="dyn-card__label"> <span class="has-meta-variant">Publications</span> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card__content"> <h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/measuring-essential-wealth-primer-2025/">Families Need Wealth. 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This brief aims to offer a path toward greater empirical understanding of what constitutes essential wealth and how to measure it. </div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="162953" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>December 18, 2025</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/katherine-lucas-mckay/">Katherine Lucas McKay</a></li><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/steven-brown/">Steven Brown</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card"> <div class="dyn-card__wrap"> <div class="dyn-card__media"> <figure class="dyn-card__image"> <a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/convening-on-measuring-u-s-household-essential-wealth/" tabindex="-1"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="422" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Website-Hero-Images-1-1500x422.png" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Convening on Measuring U.S. Household Essential Wealth" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a> </figure> <div class="dyn-card__label"> <span class="has-meta-variant">Event</span> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card__content"> <h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/convening-on-measuring-u-s-household-essential-wealth/">Convening on Measuring U.S. Household Essential Wealth</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Aspen FSP and the Boston Fed gathered 60+ leaders from the public and private sectors to lay the foundation for measuring how much wealth is “enough” for a U.S. family to thrive.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta"><time>Sep 23 &#8211; 24, 2025</time></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card"> <div class="dyn-card__wrap"> <div class="dyn-card__media"> <figure class="dyn-card__image"> <a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/we-dont-have-to-choose-between-stability-and-wealth/" tabindex="-1"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="844" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Generic-web-header-1500x844.png" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Video: We Don&#8217;t Have to Choose Between Financial Stability and Wealth" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a> </figure> <div class="dyn-card__label"> <span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> <span>Videos</span> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card__content"> <h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/we-dont-have-to-choose-between-stability-and-wealth/">Video: We Don&#8217;t Have to Choose Between Financial Stability and Wealth</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Households need tools that help them afford everyday life and build long-term security. Too often, policy systems fail to respond to both of these needs and instead prioritize one goal over the other.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="153917" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>September 30, 2025</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/tim-shaw/">Tim Shaw</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card"> <div class="dyn-card__wrap"> <div class="dyn-card__media"> <figure class="dyn-card__image"> <a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/trump-accounts-are-here-now-lets-make-them-work/" tabindex="-1"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="844" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Generic-web-header-1500x844.png" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Trump Accounts Are Here–Now Let’s Make Them Work for the Kids Who Need Them Most" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a> </figure> <div class="dyn-card__label"> <span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card__content"> <h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/trump-accounts-are-here-now-lets-make-them-work/">Trump Accounts Are Here–Now Let’s Make Them Work for the Kids Who Need Them Most</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Trump Accounts were signed into law. Now, private and public sector need to work together to make sure these early wealth building accounts help low-income families.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="143151" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>July 18, 2025</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/jason-ewas/">Jason Ewas</a></li><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/karen-andres/">Karen Biddle Andres</a></li><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/kc-boas/">KC Boas</a></li><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/ray-boshara/">Ray Boshara</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card"> <div class="dyn-card__wrap"> <div class="dyn-card__media"> <figure class="dyn-card__image"> <a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/video-how-can-renters-grow-their-wealth/" tabindex="-1"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="771" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-03-at-1.06.03 PM-1500x771.png" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Video: How Can Renters Grow Their Wealth?" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a> </figure> <div class="dyn-card__label"> <span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> <span>Videos</span> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card__content"> <h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/video-how-can-renters-grow-their-wealth/">Video: How Can Renters Grow Their Wealth?</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">All households deserve to build–and sustain–the wealth they need to thrive. But when home equity is the largest source of wealth for most Americans, how do renters gain assets? This video spotlights the current state of renters&#8217; wealth and calls on leaders across sectors to come together and co-create solutions that expand renters&#8217; wealth-building pathways.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="141100" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>July 7, 2025</time></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card"> <div class="dyn-card__wrap"> <div class="dyn-card__media"> <figure class="dyn-card__image"> <a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/its-time-to-connect-financial-security-and-economic-policy/" tabindex="-1"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ideas-2-1500x1125.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Genevieve Melford sits in the Ideas 20 letters on the Aspen campus." style="object-position: 52% 70%" /> </a> </figure> <div class="dyn-card__label"> <span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> </div> </div> <div class="dyn-card__content"> <h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/its-time-to-connect-financial-security-and-economic-policy/">It’s Time to Connect Financial Security and Economic Policy</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Aspen FSP Managing Director Genevieve Melford looks to the future of financial security work and economic policy.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="135507" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>June 11, 2025</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/genevieve-melford/">Genevieve Melford</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p class=""></p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/essential-wealth-report-benchmark-for-financial-security/">Essential Wealth: A New Benchmark for Financial Security</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org">Aspen Institute</a>.</p>