Personal finance

Net worth calculator

One number sums up your whole financial position: everything you own, minus everything you owe. Here it is. And how it stacks up.

Net worth is the honest scoreboard. Income tells you what flows in; net worth tells you what you have kept. It is total assets, cash, investments, home equity, anything you could sell, minus total debt. This adds it up and sets it against the Federal Reserve median for your age, as a reference point, not a verdict.

Add up what you own and owe.

Worked example

Someone at 35 with a $350,000 home, $60,000 invested, $15,000 cash and typical debts:

LineAmount
Total assets$450,000
Total liabilities−$321,000
Net worth$129,000
Federal Reserve median (age 25 to 34)$55,000

That is $129,000 of net worth, $74,000 ahead of the $55,000 median for the age band. Most of the assets are illiquid (a home you live in), which the single number hides.

Questions

Does my income count toward net worth?

No. Net worth is a snapshot of what you have, not what you earn. A high earner who spends everything can have a lower net worth than a modest earner who saves, which is exactly why the number is worth tracking.

Should I count my home?

Include its market value as an asset and the mortgage as a liability, so only your equity flows into net worth. Just remember it is illiquid, you cannot spend home equity without selling or borrowing against it.

Am I behind if I'm below the median?

Not necessarily. The Federal Reserve medians average across all households, including retirees with decades of compounding. A younger person carrying student loans is investing in future earnings, not falling behind. Use the median as a data point, not a judgment.

Related tools

Federal Reserve medians are reference data, not targets. Not financial advice.