Add what you own. Subtract what you owe. Compare to your age cohort. The single most important personal finance number.
| Age | Median | Mean |
|---|
Net worth is the cumulative result of every income, spending, saving, and investment decision you've ever made — captured in one figure. Income tells you what you make per year; net worth tells you what you have, after taxes, after spending, after market gains and losses, after life. People with high incomes and zero net worth are common. People with modest incomes and seven-figure net worth exist. The variable is decades of consistent saving, not paycheck size.
| Age cohort | Median NW | Mean NW | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $39,000 | $183,000 | Early-career, often student-loan-heavy |
| 35–44 | $135,600 | $549,600 | Mortgage years, peak family expenses |
| 45–54 | $246,700 | $975,800 | Peak earnings, equity building |
| 55–64 | $364,500 | $1,566,900 | Pre-retirement consolidation |
| 65–74 | $410,000 | $1,794,600 | Retirement drawdown phase |
| 75+ | $334,700 | $1,624,100 | Estate phase, gifting |
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2022 (the most recent triennial release). Means are 4-5× medians because the distribution is heavily right-skewed by the wealthy. Adjust upward ~12-15% for 2026 dollars to compare cleanly.
| Include as asset | Include as liability | Exclude entirely |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, checking, savings, MMF | Mortgage principal | Future Social Security benefits |
| Brokerage, retirement accounts | HELOC balance | Expected inheritance |
| Home value (current market) | Auto loans | Recurring subscriptions accrued |
| Vehicles (60-70% of book) | Student loans (current balance) | Frequent flyer miles, points |
| Investment real estate | Credit card balances | Wages for current period |
| Private business equity | Personal loans | Future child support owed |
| Collectibles with documented market | Tax debt (back taxes) | Sentimental personal property |
| Cryptocurrency | Personal-guaranteed business debt | Pets (not assets) |
Net worth is a lagging indicator. The actionable question isn't "what is it today?" but "is it growing year-over-year?" — at what rate, from what mix of saving + market returns + debt paydown. Quarterly snapshots over a multi-year window reveal trajectory; one snapshot in isolation reveals nothing.
A $40,000 truck purchased two years ago is worth roughly $26,000 — vehicles depreciate 15-20% per year. Use Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds private-party value, not the dealer trade-in or what you paid. Many planners exclude vehicles entirely from NW because they're consumption assets, not wealth.
RSUs vested but unvested are wealth in expectation only. Vested RSUs at current market price are real. Stock options worth $0 if exercised today (out-of-the-money) are not assets. Restricted shares with selling lockup get a discount in the 10-30% range. The temptation to count "paper" comp at headline value is the most common cause of inflated personal balance sheets.
Sources: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2022 (released 2023, next 2025 SCF expected late 2026); Federal Reserve Z.1 Flow of Funds (Q4 2024 US household NW ~$160T); Stanley & Danko, "The Millionaire Next Door" (1996); Bengen "Determining Withdrawal Rates" (1994); Trinity Study (1998); Fidelity Savings Factor benchmarks.
Net worth = total assets minus total liabilities. It's the single most important personal finance number — it captures the cumulative result of every income, spending, saving, and investment decision in one figure. Income tells you what you make; net worth tells you what you have. People with high incomes and zero NW are common; the variable is decades of consistent saving.
Per Federal Reserve SCF 2022: median NW under 35 ~$39k; 35-44 ~$135k; 45-54 ~$247k; 55-64 ~$365k; 65-74 ~$410k; 75+ ~$335k. Means are 4-5× higher because the distribution is right-skewed by the wealthy. Adjust upward ~12-15% for 2026 dollars. Next SCF release (2025 data) expected late 2026.
Stanley and Danko's 1996 framework: Expected NW = age × pre-tax annual income ÷ 10. A 40-yr-old at $100k expects $400k NW. 2× expected = "Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth" (PAW); under 50% = "Under Accumulator (UAW)." Rough — ignores starting capital, location, life stage — but useful framing.
Yes — at current market value as asset, mortgage as liability. Difference = home equity (real wealth: sellable, borrowable). Also track liquid NW separately = total minus home equity, vehicles, personal property. Liquid NW is what you'd deploy in emergency or for FIRE math. Both numbers tell different stories.
Anything sellable, transferable, or borrowable. Cash, savings, brokerage, retirement (401k/IRA/HSA/529), home, vehicles, investment real estate, business equity, collectibles with market, crypto. Don't include: future Social Security (income, not asset), expected inheritance, frequent flyer miles. Vehicles at 60-70% of book or excluded.
Anything you owe. Mortgage principal, HELOC, auto loans, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, medical debt in collections, back taxes, 401(k) loans, personal-guaranteed business debt. Don't include: monthly utilities accrued, recurring subscriptions, future child support not yet accrued. Convention is current balances, not future flows.
Total liabilities ÷ total assets. Under 30% excellent (minimal leverage, high cushion). 30-50% healthy for mortgage-paying younger households. 50-70% typical for 30s/40s with mortgage + student loans. Above 80% concerning — heavy leverage, low margin for asset declines.
Quarterly is plenty for trend tracking. Monthly is fine if it motivates saving. Daily is obsessive — day-to-day stock and home-value algorithm moves are noise. Track trend, not snapshot. Many planners snapshot Jan 1 + Dec 31 each year for clean annual checkpoints.
Not necessarily. Three contexts where below-median is fine: (1) early career — under-30 median is only ~$39k; (2) recent life event — divorce, business failure, medical bankruptcy reset many; (3) chosen priorities — career sabbatical, family caregiving. Actionable signal is whether trajectory is going right direction year-over-year. Growth rate matters more than absolute level.
Standard FIRE / retirement target: 25× annual expenses, derived from the 4% rule (Bengen 1994, Trinity 1998). At $50k/yr expenses: $1.25M (mostly investable, not primary residence equity). Fidelity's Savings Factor framework as intermediate markers: 1× salary by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, 10× by 67. Saving-account targets, not whole-NW.