Net Worth Calculator: The Only Financial Number That Actually Matters

Your income is not your wealth. Your salary is not your net worth. Your 401(k) balance is not your savings rate.

Net worth is: everything you own, minus everything you owe.

Assets: cash, investments, retirement accounts, home equity (market value minus mortgage balance), vehicles (current market value), business interests, other valuables.

Liabilities: mortgage balance, student loans, car loans, credit card balances, personal loans, any other debt.

Subtract liabilities from assets. That's your net worth.

Why This Number Matters More Than Income

High income with low net worth is a common and precarious position. Someone earning $200,000 with $800,000 in debt and no investments is financially less secure than someone earning $80,000 with $400,000 in investments and no debt.

Net worth is the number that determines whether you can weather a job loss, retire when you want to, and fund the goals that actually matter to you. Income is the mechanism for building it.

Tracking It Over Time

Net worth becomes most useful as a trend. Calculate it quarterly. What direction is it moving? Is the rate of change accelerating or slowing?

A few benchmarks that provide rough orientation: median US household net worth by age group (Federal Reserve data):

• 35-44: ~$135,000
• 45-54: ~$247,000
• 55-64: ~$365,000

These are medians — half of households are below. But they give you a sense of where you stand relative to peers.

[Calculate your net worth →](https://doesitaddup.com)

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