Snapshot of a nation
15 statistics represent what daily life is like for average Americans
SPOTLIGHT | DEMOGRAPHICS
How average are you?
Using the latest available federal and industry data, here are 15 numbers that help define everyday American life in 2026.
Not every figure is technically an average — some are medians or percentages — but they offer a snapshot of America.
1 Homebuyer
The median age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. is 40, according to the National Association of Realtors, a record high.
The data comes from NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the latest edition available, which examines home purchases between July 2024 and June 2025. First-time buyers make up just 21% of the market, compared with a historical norm of about 40% before 2008.
Those buyers face an expensive housing market. The typical U.S. home was valued at $371,774 as of July 2026, according to Zillow's Home Value Index, up 1% from a year earlier.
Home values vary considerably by state. As of July 31, the typical home was valued at $301,806 in Texas, $299,900 in Illinois and $269,576 in Michigan, according to Zillow. Over the previous year, home values fell 1.8% in Texas but rose 5.1% in Illinois and 4% in Michigan.
2 Newlyweds
The median age at first marriage was 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That means Americans typically get married about seven years later than they did 50 years ago.
The data also showed just 47% of U.S. households were married-couple households in 2025, down from 66% in 1975.
3 Motherhood
The average age of a first-time mother in the U.S. reached a record high of 27.6 in 2024, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in June 2026. That's up from 27.5 in 2023 and continues a decadeslong trend toward having a first child later in life.
4 Household
The average U.S. household has about 2.5 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest estimates. The figure was 2.53 people per household based on data collected from 2020 through 2024.
At the same time, living alone is increasingly common. Almost 3 in 10 U.S. households consisted of just one person in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The country's 39.7 million one-person households accounted for 29% of all households, up from 20% in 1975.
5 Vehicle
The average vehicle on U.S. roads was 12.8 years old in 2025, a record high, according to S&P Global Mobility. That's up from 12.6 years in 2024, as Americans keep their vehicles on the road longer.
6 Grocery bill
Feeding two people at home cost an average of $569.50 per month in May 2026, according to a WalletHub analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
At that same per-person rate, that would work out to about $1,139 a month for a family of four, $1,709 for six people and $2,278 for eight.
7 Debt
The average American consumer had a credit card balance of $6,659 as of March 2026, according to Experian. That's up slightly from $6,618 a year earlier. Across the U.S., total credit card debt climbed 5.4% over the same period to nearly $1.25 trillion.
Total U.S. consumer debt reached $18.21 trillion in January 2026, up 2.9% from a year earlier, according to Equifax. Mortgage debt, including home equity loans, accounted for 74% of the total. Among the remaining non-mortgage debt, auto loans and leases accounted for 35.7%, student loans for 27.8% and credit card balances for 24.9%.
8 Workday
Full-time employed Americans worked an average of 8.1 hours on days they worked in 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey. The average weekday workday stretched to 8.5 hours, while weekend workdays averaged 5.5 hours.
9 Commute
The average one-way commute to work in the U.S. was 27.2 minutes in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest American Community Survey estimates, up slightly from 26.8 minutes in 2023.
Commute times also vary by state. According to Census Bureau QuickFacts, based on 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates:
Illinois ............ 27.8 minutes
Texas .............. 26.7 minutes
Michigan ........ 24.2 minutes
10 Earnings
The median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in the U.S.
were $1,251 in the second quarter of 2026, equivalent to $65,052 over 52 weeks, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median represents the midpoint, meaning half of workers earned more and half earned less.
Pay varies considerably by state. SoFi lists the average annual salary at $69,020 in Illinois, $63,660 in Texas and $63,120 in Michigan, compared with a national average of about $69,847.
11 Credit score
The average U.S. FICO credit score stood at 714 in 2026, according to FICO's Spring 2026 Credit Insights report. The figure continued a recent downward trend after the national average peaked at 718 in 2023.
FICO scores generally range from 300 to 850, and scores from 670 to 739 are considered "good." Scores from 740 to 799 are considered "very good," while 800 and above are considered "exceptional."
12 Sleep
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults reported getting less than seven hours of sleep in 24 hours, according to a National Center for Health Statistics report released in April 2026.
The report, based on the 2024 National Health Interview Survey, also found about 1 in 6 adults had trouble falling asleep and about 1 in 5 had trouble staying asleep.
13 Leisure time
Americans age 15 and older spent an average of 5.2 hours a day on leisure and sports activities in 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey, released in June 2026.
Watching TV took up the largest share, averaging 2.6 hours a day — about half of all leisure time. By comparison, Americans spent an average of just 16 minutes a day reading for personal interest.
14 Retirement
Workers expect to retire at a median age of 65, while current retirees reported retiring at a median age of 62, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey.
Most retirees left the workforce before age 65, and almost half said they retired earlier than planned.
Among Empower Personal Dashboard users in their 60s, the median 401(k) balance was $191,372 as of June 2026, according to Empower. Retirement savings also vary widely by state. Median household retirement savings were $111,000 in Illinois, $85,000 in Michigan and $55,000 in Texas, according to SmartAsset's 2026 study.
About 64% of Americans said they were confident they would have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey.
15 Life expectancy
Life expectancy in the U.S. reached a record 79 years in 2024, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics released in January 2026.
