How Much Do Pennsylvanians Inherit on Average? (Statistics 2026)

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The word "average" hides more than it reveals when it comes to inheritance. A handful of very large estates pull the national mean up to more than $700,000, while the typical heir receives a fraction of that.

Below are 16 numbered facts on how much people in the United States, and specifically in Pennsylvania, actually inherit. Every figure is linked to its source at the foot of the page. Updated July 2026.

Contents:

The median vs the mean: why "average" misleads

1. The median inheritance is about $69,000, but the mean is $707,291

Analysis of the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances puts the median inheritance (the middle value, what a typical heir gets) at roughly $69,000, while the mean is a towering $707,291.1 The gap between the two numbers exists because a small number of multimillion-dollar transfers drag the average far above what most families ever see. The Survey of Consumer Finances is the federal government's benchmark dataset for household wealth and inheritances.2

2. Only about 1 in 3 households ever receives an inheritance

Roughly 30 percent of U.S. households report ever having received an inheritance, meaning around 70 percent never receive one at all.3 Inheritance is the exception, not the norm, which is another reason the mean overstates the experience of the average family.

3. Averaged across all households, the figure drops to roughly $46,000 to $58,000

When you include the majority who inherit little or nothing, the average transfer per U.S. household falls to about $46,200, and for the bottom 50 percent by wealth the average is closer to $9,700.4 A separate reading of Federal Reserve data pegs the typical household inheritance near $58,000, again a figure skewed upward by the wealthiest recipients.5

4. Inheritances passed through a trust are in a different league

When wealth moves through a trust, the numbers jump: the median trust inheritance is about $285,000 and the mean reaches roughly $4.06 million.6 Trusts are far more common at the top of the wealth ladder, which is exactly why trust-based transfers dwarf ordinary ones.

Who inherits, and when

5. Most inheritances arrive between ages 46 and 75

The bulk of inheritances are received between ages 46 and 75, with the largest amounts concentrated in the 56 to 65 bracket.7 One analysis found the typical American inherits at around age 58, not in their twenties or thirties as popular imagination suggests.8

6. About 82 percent of inherited dollars come from parents

Roughly 82 percent of total inheritance value comes from the recipient's parents, with grandparents contributing around 17 percent.9 For recipients over 45, the parental share climbs to about 87 percent.

7. Parents with a college degree leave noticeably more

The median inheritance from parents without a college degree is about $76,200, versus roughly $92,700 from parents who hold one.10 These medians come from the same federal Survey of Consumer Finances that underpins the headline figures above.11

8. High earners inherit several times more than everyone else

Among people who inherit, those in the top 5 percent of the income distribution receive an average of about $424,000, roughly three times the amount received by the bottom 90 percent.12 Depending on how inheritance is defined, top earners receive transfers 4 to 12 times larger than households in the bottom 80 percent, so inheritance tends to reinforce existing wealth rather than level it.

Measure (U.S., Survey of Consumer Finances)Amount
Median inheritance~$69,000
Mean inheritance~$707,291
Average, bottom 50% by wealth~$9,700
Median, through a trust~$285,000
Average, top 5% by income~$424,000

The great wealth transfer

9. About $84 trillion is set to change hands by 2045

Cerulli Associates projects that some $84.4 trillion in wealth will transfer through 2045, of which about $72.6 trillion goes to heirs and $11.9 trillion to charity.13 This is the "great wealth transfer" that is expected to reshape household balance sheets across the country, including Pennsylvania.

10. Earlier research projected $59 trillion over 2007 to 2061

The Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy estimated years ago that roughly $59 trillion would pass to heirs, charities and taxes between 2007 and 2061, an earlier benchmark for the same generational handoff.14

11. The transfer is highly concentrated at the top

Baby Boomer households alone are expected to pass on more than $53 trillion, about 63 percent of the total. Meanwhile high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth households, just 1.5 percent of all families, account for roughly 42 percent of the dollars transferred.15

12. Only about half of millionaires plan to leave an inheritance

Despite the headlines, a 2025 Northwestern Mutual study found only about half of American millionaires actually plan to leave an inheritance, and just one third consider themselves "wealthy."16 A large transfer is a projection, not a guarantee for any individual family.

13. Roughly a third of all Americans plan to leave anything at all

Survey work from Empower found that about 32 percent of Americans plan to leave an inheritance, even a small one, while 35 percent feel estate planning "is for rich people" and not for them.17 That belief is one reason so many people die without a valid will.

Pennsylvania context and inheritance tax

14. Pennsylvania's demographics shape its inheritances

Pennsylvania is home to roughly 13 million people, its median owner-occupied home is worth about $254,500, and close to one in five residents is 65 or older.18 With an older-than-average population and a home as the largest asset in most estates, property values do much of the work in setting what Pennsylvania families actually pass down.

15. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that taxes inheritances

Unlike Texas, Florida or California, Pennsylvania levies a state inheritance tax. The rate depends on the heir's relationship to the deceased: 0 percent for a surviving spouse, 4.5 percent for children, grandchildren and other lineal descendants, 12 percent for siblings, and 15 percent for everyone else.19 These rates are fixed by statute under Title 72 of the Pennsylvania statutes.20

16. There is no exemption threshold like the federal estate tax

Pennsylvania has no separate state estate tax, but its inheritance tax applies from the first dollar for most heirs, with no large exemption comparable to the federal estate tax's multimillion-dollar threshold.21 That means even modest Pennsylvania estates can owe inheritance tax when assets pass to siblings, nieces, nephews or unrelated beneficiaries.

Whatever the size of your estate, the single most important step is having a valid, clearly written will so your wishes, not the default rules, decide who inherits. Our guided will builder walks you through it step by step in plain English. To see how many people in the state actually have one, read our companion piece on how many Pennsylvanians have a will.

Sources

  1. 1Boldin: Average Inheritance From Parents (Survey of Consumer Finances analysis) (boldin.com)
  2. 2Federal Reserve: Survey of Consumer Finances, 1989-2022 data tables (federalreserve.gov)
  3. 3Annuity.org: Average Inheritance and share of households receiving one (annuity.org)
  4. 4Boldin: Average inheritance per household and bottom-50% figures (boldin.com)
  5. 5Empower: Coining a legacy, estate planning research (empower.com)
  6. 6Boldin: Trust-based inheritance median and mean (boldin.com)
  7. 7Penn Wharton Budget Model: Inheritances by Age and Income Group (budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu)
  8. 8Yahoo Finance: Only 30% of Americans ever receive an inheritance, at 58 (finance.yahoo.com)
  9. 9Penn Wharton Budget Model: Share of inheritances from parents (budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu)
  10. 10Boldin: Median inheritance by parental education (boldin.com)
  11. 11Federal Reserve: Survey of Consumer Finances data source (federalreserve.gov)
  12. 12Penn Wharton Budget Model: Inheritance by income distribution (budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu)
  13. 13Cerulli Associates: $84 trillion in wealth transfers through 2045 (cerulli.com)
  14. 14CNBC: Boston College projection of $59 trillion by 2061 (cnbc.com)
  15. 15Cerulli Associates: Concentration of wealth transfers among Boomers and HNW households (cerulli.com)
  16. 16Northwestern Mutual: Half of millionaires plan to leave an inheritance (news.northwesternmutual.com)
  17. 17Empower: Share of Americans planning to leave an inheritance (empower.com)
  18. 18U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Pennsylvania (population, home value, age 65+) (census.gov)
  19. 19Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Inheritance Tax rates (pa.gov)
  20. 20FindLaw: 72 P.S. Section 9116, Pennsylvania inheritance tax rates (codes.findlaw.com)
  21. 21Nolo: Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax overview and thresholds (nolo.com)
Max Kuch

About the author

Max Kuch

Max Kuch writes about estate planning, wills and inheritance for Pennsylvania Will Template. He gathers the numbers from official Pennsylvania and US public data, then explains what they mean for anyone thinking about putting their wishes in writing.

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Frequently asked questions

The draft itself is a template, not yet a valid will. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Sec. 2502, Pennsylvania recognizes a wholly handwritten (holographic) will. To make it valid you must copy the finished text out entirely in your own handwriting and sign it at the end. Once you do that in your own hand and sign at the end, it meets Pennsylvania's requirements. A printout that you only sign is weaker, so the safe path is to write the whole thing by hand yourself.

Pennsylvania gives full effect to a holographic will, meaning a will written and signed entirely in the testator's own hand. No witnesses are required for the will to be valid. Copying it out by hand is what turns our template into a will the law recognizes. Your own handwriting is also strong evidence that the document is genuinely yours, which helps when it is presented to the Register of Wills. Take your time, write clearly, and sign at the end.

Pennsylvania has no forced heirship, so you are free to leave children out and direct your property as you choose. A spouse is treated differently. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Sec. 2203, a surviving spouse who is disinherited can file an elective share and claim one third of certain estate property, and that right stands even if your will says otherwise. So you can write a spouse out on paper, but the law still lets that spouse elect to take one third. If your family situation is delicate, state your intentions clearly and consider legal advice.

Keep the signed original somewhere safe and dry, such as a home fireproof box or a bank safe deposit box, and make sure your executor knows exactly where it is. Pennsylvania has no statewide lifetime registry where you file a will while you are alive. After your death, the original is taken to the Register of Wills in the county where you lived so it can be probated. Because the original is what gets filed, protecting it and telling your executor is the most important step.

We recommend against a single shared document. A holographic will in Pennsylvania must be entirely in one person's handwriting and signed at the end by that person, so two people cannot both handwrite and sign the same will. The clean approach is two separate mirror wills, one written and signed by each spouse, that reflect the same plan. Each of you copies out and signs your own, and each stays valid and changeable on its own.

Yes. A will only takes effect at death, so you can revise it at any time while you are alive and of sound mind. The simplest way is to handwrite a fresh will, sign it at the end, and physically destroy the old one so there is no confusion about which is current. Avoid squeezing changes in below your signature, because anything written after the end signature in Pennsylvania is generally not given effect. Review your will after major life events like a marriage, divorce, birth, or a large purchase.

No. This service helps you produce a clear, well structured draft to copy out by hand, but it is not legal advice and does not replace an attorney. If your estate is large, you own a business, you have blended family issues, property in more than one state, or you expect disputes, have a Pennsylvania attorney review your plan. For a straightforward estate, a carefully handwritten will signed at the end can serve you well.

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