How to Calculate Your Net Worth (and What It Should Be by Age)

Q: Is net worth the same as income?

No. Income is what you earn; net worth is what you have accumulated. A person earning $200,000 who spends everything has a lower net worth than someone earning $60,000 who saves aggressively. Net worth reflects your lifetime financial decisions, not just your current paycheck.

Updated March 2026 · 10 min read · By Travis Cook

Your net worth is the one number that actually tells you where you stand financially. It's more meaningful than your income, your credit score, or the balance in any single account. Calculating it takes about 10 minutes and can fundamentally change how you think about money.

Calculate Your Net Worth Now

Add up your assets and liabilities in one place.

Use the Net Worth Calculator

The Formula

Net worth is the simplest equation in personal finance:

Net Worth = Total Assets - Total Liabilities

Assets = everything you own that has value. Liabilities = everything you owe. Subtract liabilities from assets and that's your net worth. It can be positive or negative, and at certain life stages (hello, student loans) negative is completely normal.

What Counts as an Asset

Cash: checking, savings, money market, CDs, emergency fund. Investments: 401(k), IRA, Roth, brokerage, HSA, index funds, stocks, bonds, crypto. Property: home equity (what it's worth minus what you owe), rentals, land. Vehicles: what you could sell them for today (check KBB, not what you paid). Other: business equity, life insurance cash value, valuable collections, money owed to you.

Don't count your furniture, clothes, or electronics. Yes, they're technically worth something. But they depreciate instantly and nobody is buying your used IKEA couch for what you paid. Leave them out.

What Counts as a Liability

Mortgage balance. Student loans (federal and private). Car loans. Credit card balances (all of them). Personal loans. Medical debt. HELOCs, business loans, money borrowed from family (yes, it counts).

Average Net Worth by Age

The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances is the gold standard for this data. Look at the median, not the average. The average is inflated by billionaires. The median tells you what a typical household actually has.

Age of Head of Household	Median Net Worth	Average Net Worth
Under 35	$39,000	$183,500
35-44	$135,600	$549,600
45-54	$247,200	$975,800
55-64	$364,500	$1,566,900
65-74	$409,900	$1,794,600
75+	$335,600	$1,624,100

Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 2022 (most recent available). These numbers include home equity, which is the largest asset for most American households.

A Negative Net Worth Is Not a Failure

If you're 25 with $80K in student loans and $15K in savings, your net worth is negative $65,000. That feels terrible to see on paper. But it's completely normal at that age. The number isn't the point right now. The trajectory is. As long as it's moving in the right direction each year, you're fine.

How to Grow Your Net Worth

Exactly three ways to grow net worth: grow assets (save, invest), shrink liabilities (pay off debt), or both at once. Fastest results come from killing high-interest debt while investing consistently. Even small amounts compound dramatically over decades.

Check how your savings will grow with the Compound Interest Calculator, or measure your debt burden with the Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator.

How Often to Calculate Net Worth

Check it every 3 months. Some people do monthly. The frequency matters less than doing it consistently so you can see the trend. A spreadsheet works fine. So does the Net Worth Calculator. What matters is that you can compare this quarter to last quarter and see which direction you're heading.

The Wealth-Building Formula

Thomas Stanley ("The Millionaire Next Door") came up with a simple benchmark: age x pre-tax income / 10. A 40-year-old earning $80K should have at least $320,000 in net worth by this formula. It's rough and it doesn't work great for people under 30 (the math is almost impossible that young), but it gives you something to aim at.

Set a Savings Target

Figure out how much to save each month to hit your net worth goal.

Use the Savings Goal Calculator

About the Author

Travis Cook covers personal finance for MayoCalc, building tools and guides backed by data from the Federal Reserve, IRS, and major financial institutions. All figures are verified against primary sources and updated annually.

Net Worth FAQ

Should I include my home in net worth?

Yes, but only the equity (market value minus remaining mortgage). Your home is typically your largest asset. Some people track two numbers: total net worth (including home) and investable net worth (excluding home equity) to get a clearer picture of liquid wealth.

Does net worth include retirement accounts?

Yes. Include the current balance of all retirement accounts (401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, pension value). Some people note that traditional 401(k) and IRA balances will be taxed upon withdrawal, so the "after-tax" value is lower than the stated balance. For simplicity, most people include the full pre-tax balance.

What is a good net worth for my age?

The Federal Reserve median data provides a benchmark: roughly $39,000 by 35, $136,000 by 44, $247,000 by 54, and $365,000 by 64. If you're above the median for your age group, you're doing better than half of American households. But personal circumstances vary enormously, so focus more on your trajectory than any single number.

Is net worth the same as income?

No. Income is what you earn; net worth is what you've accumulated. A person earning $200,000 who spends everything has a lower net worth than someone earning $60,000 who saves aggressively. Net worth reflects your lifetime financial decisions, not just your current paycheck.

Should I count my car as an asset?

Technically yes, at its current resale value (not what you paid). A car worth $15,000 with a $10,000 loan contributes $5,000 of net equity to your net worth. However, since cars depreciate rapidly, they shouldn't be counted on for long-term wealth building.

Track Your Finances With CMS Flow

Building net worth starts with knowing where your money goes each month. CMS Flow is a free budgeting app that makes it easy to track income, expenses, and progress toward your financial goals.

For more on this topic, see our average net worth by age.

For more on this topic, see our global wealth comparison.

Sources

Federal Reserve SCF: Survey of Consumer Finances: household net worth data

Related Tools

Calculate your net worth with the Net Worth Calculator. Check your debt burden with the Debt-to-Income Calculator. See how investments grow with the Investment Return Calculator and Compound Interest Calculator. Set a savings target with the Savings Goal Calculator.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Net worth benchmarks are based on the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2022). Individual financial situations vary. Consult a financial advisor for personalized guidance.