Your net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. Add up the current value of your assets (cash, investments, retirement accounts, home equity, vehicles and other property worth selling), add up all your debts (mortgage, car loans, student loans, credit cards and anything else), and subtract the second number from the first. The result can be positive or negative, and it is most useful as a number you track over time rather than a score.
It takes about an hour the first time if you have your account logins handy. Below is a step-by-step method, how to value the tricky items, a worked example, and the newest Federal Reserve figures by age so you have context, along with why comparing yourself to an average can mislead you.
What counts as an asset
An asset is anything with a cash value you could get if you sold it or withdrew it. Group them like this:
- Cash: checking, savings, money market accounts, CDs and cash on hand.
- Investments: brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, Treasury securities and any crypto you hold.
- Retirement accounts: 401(k), 403(b), 457, IRA, Roth IRA, SEP and similar plans, plus HSAs if you invest them.
- Real estate: your home and any rental or vacation property at a realistic market value.
- Vehicles: cars, motorcycles, boats and RVs at private-party value.
- Other valuables: business ownership, cash value in a whole life insurance policy, and items like jewelry or collectibles only if you would actually sell them and know what they would bring.
Leave out everyday household goods such as furniture, clothes and electronics. They have little resale value, and counting them inflates the number without telling you anything useful.
What counts as a liability
Liabilities are the balances you owe today, not your monthly payments. Pull the current payoff or principal balance from each statement or lender website:
- Mortgage and home equity loans or lines of credit.
- Auto loans and leases with a buyout balance you owe.
- Student loans, federal and private, including accrued interest.
- Credit card balances, even ones you pay in full each month (use the current balance).
- Personal loans, buy now pay later balances, medical bills on payment plans and 401(k) loans.
- Money owed to family, taxes owed, and any other debts.
How to calculate your net worth step by step
- Pick a date, such as the first of the month, and use balances from that date for everything so the snapshot is consistent.
- List every account and asset in one column with its current value. Log in rather than guessing.
- Estimate your home’s value conservatively (see the next section) and your vehicles at private-party value.
- List every debt in a second column with its current balance.
- Add each column.
- Subtract total liabilities from total assets. That is your net worth.
- Also calculate liquid net worth: cash plus taxable investments minus non-mortgage debts. It shows what you could reach quickly in an emergency.
- Save the sheet and repeat on the same date every quarter or every year.
How to value the tricky items
Homes. Online estimates can be off by 5% or more in either direction. A more grounded approach is to look at what similar homes nearby sold for in the last six months, then subtract around 6% to 8% for selling costs such as agent commissions and closing fees. Many people simply use the purchase price plus modest appreciation, which errs on the safe side.
Cars. Use private-party value from a pricing guide, not the dealer retail price. A car bought for $35,000 two years ago may be worth $24,000 today, and the loan balance could be higher than that.
Retirement accounts. Count the full balance, but remember that money in a traditional 401(k) or IRA will be taxed when withdrawn. Some people discount pre-tax balances by an estimated tax rate (for example, 15% to 25%) to see a more realistic figure. Roth balances generally come out tax free in retirement, so they are worth more dollar for dollar. Either approach is fine as long as you are consistent.
Pensions and Social Security. These are valuable but hard to price, and most people leave them out of the basic calculation and plan for them separately.
Example: Maria, 38, adds up her assets: $6,500 in checking and savings, $48,000 in her 401(k), $9,000 in a Roth IRA, a home she estimates at $340,000, and a car worth $14,000. That is $417,500. Her liabilities: $262,000 left on the mortgage, $11,500 on the car loan, $18,000 in student loans and a $2,300 credit card balance, totaling $293,800. Her net worth is $417,500 minus $293,800, or $123,700. Her liquid net worth is much lower: $6,500 in cash minus $31,800 in non-mortgage debt, about negative $25,300, which tells her that paying down the card and building savings comes first.
Median net worth by age in 2025
In October 2026 the Federal Reserve released its 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, the most detailed U.S. data on household wealth. Median family net worth was $215,900, and the mean (average) was about $1.24 million.
| Age of head of household | Median net worth (2025) | Mean net worth (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $33,000 | $135,400 |
| 35 to 44 | $155,600 | $681,900 |
| 45 to 54 | $253,700 | $1,244,500 |
| 55 to 64 | $411,900 | $1,878,000 |
| 65 to 74 | $431,300 | $1,897,600 |
| 75 and older | $504,900 | $1,962,200 |
Source: Federal Reserve, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025.
Use the median, not the mean, for comparison. A relatively small number of very wealthy families pull the averages far above what a typical household has. The median is the middle family: half have more and half have less. Also note that the survey measures families, so a married couple counts as one unit with combined assets.
Even the median says little about whether you are on track. A 30-year-old doctor with $250,000 of student loans may have a deeply negative net worth and a strong financial future. A 60-year-old with a paid-off house but no retirement savings may look fine on paper while being short of cash for retirement.
If your net worth is negative
A negative number is common, especially in your 20s and early 30s, after buying a new car with a small down payment, or with large student loans. It is a starting point, not a verdict. The usual priorities are:
- Build a small cash cushion first so a surprise bill does not go on a credit card.
- Pay down high-interest debt, such as credit cards, which often charge more than 20%.
- Capture any employer retirement match, since it is an immediate return on your contribution.
- Avoid adding new debt for things that lose value fast.
Example: Tyler, 26, has $3,000 in savings, $4,000 in a 401(k) and a car worth $9,000, totaling $16,000. He owes $27,000 in student loans and $5,000 on a credit card, totaling $32,000, so his net worth is negative $16,000. If he pays $400 a month toward the card and saves $200 a month for a year while his loans amortize, his net worth could improve by roughly $7,000 to $9,000 after card interest and a year of car depreciation, before any investment growth and without a raise.
How often to track it
Quarterly or yearly is enough for most people. Checking weekly mostly measures stock market swings. A simple spreadsheet with one row per date and columns for each account works well, and many budgeting apps calculate net worth automatically once accounts are linked. Watch the direction over two or three years rather than any single snapshot.
Common questions
Does my house count toward my net worth?
Yes. Count the home’s market value as an asset and the mortgage balance as a liability, so the difference, your equity, is what adds to net worth. Some people also track net worth without home equity, since you cannot easily spend it without selling or borrowing.
Should I include my 401(k) in my net worth?
Yes, at its current balance. Because traditional 401(k) and IRA money is taxed on withdrawal, some people reduce it by an estimated tax rate to see a more realistic figure. Whatever you choose, apply it the same way each time.
What is a good net worth by age?
There is no single good number. The Federal Reserve’s 2025 data shows a median of $33,000 for families headed by someone under 35 and $411,900 for ages 55 to 64. A better personal test is whether your net worth is rising each year and whether your savings are on track for your goals.
Is net worth the same as income?
No. Income is what you earn in a year; net worth is what you have accumulated minus what you owe. People with high incomes can have low or negative net worth if they spend or borrow heavily.
Before you calculate
- Gather logins or recent statements for every bank, investment, retirement and loan account.
- Choose a single “as of” date.
- Decide how you will value your home, vehicles and pre-tax retirement accounts, and write it down.
- Leave out household goods and anything you would not sell.
- Calculate both total and liquid net worth.
- Set a reminder to update it every quarter or each January.
Editorial note: This article is general information, not financial advice. Federal Reserve figures are from the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances released in October 2026 and were checked as of November 2026; confirm account values with your financial institutions.