Net Worth Calculator

This net worth calculator (also called an assets and liabilities calculator) gives you a single number that summarizes your financial position at a point in time. Add up everything you own, subtract everything you owe, and the result is your net worth. The math is simple. The useful part is watching the number change from quarter to quarter as you pay down debt, invest, and build equity.

1. List your liquid assets first: checking and savings accounts, money market funds, certificates of deposit, and cash. These are dollars you could access within a few days without selling anything at a loss.
2. Add your investment and retirement accounts: taxable brokerage balances, 401(k), 403(b), traditional and Roth IRA, HSA, 529 plans, and any pension lump-sum value. Use the current balance, not your contribution total.
3. Add physical assets: your home at current market value (Zillow, Redfin, or a recent appraisal), vehicles at Kelley Blue Book private-party value, and any collectibles, jewelry, or business equity worth more than a few thousand dollars.
4. List secured liabilities: the current mortgage balance (not the original loan amount), home equity loans, auto loans, and any secured personal loans. Pull these numbers from your most recent statement.
5. List unsecured liabilities: credit card balances, student loans, medical debt, personal loans, and any money owed to family or friends. Include balances you plan to pay off this month, since the statement snapshot counts.
6. Net Worth = Total Assets − Total Liabilities. The calculator above does this automatically and also shows your debt-to-asset ratio, which is liabilities divided by assets expressed as a percentage.

A positive number means you own more than you owe. A negative number means the opposite, which is common in your 20s and early 30s when student loans and car loans are still large relative to savings. What matters is the trend. Recalculate every three to six months, save each snapshot, and watch the line move up over the years. A growing net worth, even slowly, is the clearest single signal that your financial plan is working.

The core formula has one line, but most people benefit from breaking the calculation into two or three related views. Below are the three formulas this calculator uses internally, plus a worked example you can check against your own numbers.

1. Net Worth (the main formula)

Net Worth = Total Assets − Total Liabilities

Example household, age 38:
Assets
  Checking & savings          $18,000
  Taxable brokerage           $42,000
  401(k) and Roth IRA        $165,000
  Home (market value)        $420,000
  Two vehicles                $31,000
  Total Assets               $676,000

Liabilities
  Mortgage balance           $268,000
  Auto loans                  $19,500
  Student loans               $24,000
  Credit cards                 $3,200
  Total Liabilities          $314,700

Net Worth = 676,000 − 314,700 = $361,300

2. Liquid Net Worth vs Total Net Worth

Total net worth includes your home and vehicles. Liquid net worth strips those out because they are hard to sell on short notice and selling them usually means you need somewhere else to live or drive. Liquid net worth is the better emergency-planning number.

Liquid Net Worth = (Cash + Investments + Retirement)
                   − (Unsecured Debt + Credit Cards)

Using the same household:
Liquid Assets = 18,000 + 42,000 + 165,000 = $225,000
Unsecured Debt = 24,000 + 3,200 = $27,200
Liquid Net Worth = 225,000 − 27,200 = $197,800

Total Net Worth: $361,300
Liquid Net Worth: $197,800

3. Debt-to-Asset Ratio

Debt-to-Asset Ratio = (Total Liabilities ÷ Total Assets) × 100

Same household:
= (314,700 ÷ 676,000) × 100
= 46.6%

A ratio under 50% is generally healthy for a household
with a mortgage. Under 30% is strong. Over 70% signals
debt strain, especially if most of it is unsecured.

Quick Reference: Net Worth on Common Profiles

Plug realistic numbers into the formula and the result follows a predictable pattern. This table shows three household snapshots using the same Net Worth = Assets − Liabilities formula:

The pattern most households follow: negative or low net worth in their 20s, rapid growth through their 30s and 40s as the mortgage amortizes and retirement accounts compound, and a debt-to-asset ratio that trends toward zero as they approach retirement.

The number the calculator returns is useful on its own, but it becomes a lot more useful when you can compare it against typical households, understand what is actually counted correctly, and know what target to aim for over the next decade. This section covers the context a basic assets and liabilities calculator does not show.

US Net Worth by Age (Federal Reserve SCF 2022)

The Federal Reserve publishes the Survey of Consumer Finances every three years. The 2022 edition is the most recent. Use the median figures, not the mean, because a small number of billionaires pulls the average far above what most households actually have.

If your net worth is at the median for your age group, you are tracking with half of American households. Beating the median in your 30s is meaningfully easier than beating it at 55, because the absolute gap between median and 75th percentile grows sharply after 40.

What Counts as an Asset (and What Does Not)

A correct net worth calculation includes anything with a real, sellable market value. It does not include future income you have not yet earned, insurance policies without cash value, or items whose resale market is effectively zero.

• Include: cash, investment accounts, retirement accounts at full balance (the pre-tax amount, though see below), home equity based on current market value, vehicles at private-party value, HSA balance, vested RSUs, cash-value life insurance, business equity you could sell.
• Do not include: expected Social Security, pension payments before retirement (use lump-sum equivalent if available), term life insurance, a rental deposit you paid, frequent flyer miles, anticipated inheritance, or the resale value of clothing, furniture, and electronics older than a year or two.

Common Mistakes That Inflate or Deflate the Result

Three mistakes skew a typical first-draft calculation by 10% or more:

1. Using the purchase price of a car instead of private-party value. A car loses roughly 20% to 25% in year one and about 15% each year after. A $38,000 SUV bought three years ago is typically worth $22,000 to $24,000 today, not $38,000.
2. Forgetting old retirement accounts. 401(k) balances from former employers often sit in the original provider's system for years. Log in or roll them into an IRA to see and include the balance.
3. Using original mortgage balance instead of current balance. A $350,000 mortgage from 2018 has had six years of principal payments applied. The current balance is often $50,000 to $80,000 lower than the original loan, depending on rate and term.

A smaller but common issue: double-counting. If you list "Home" at market value and "Home Equity" as a separate asset, you are counting the equity twice. List market value on the asset side and mortgage balance on the liability side, and the equity is captured automatically.

Net Worth Targets by Decade

A simple benchmark that has stood up well: aim for 1× your annual household income saved (not net worth, saved investments) by age 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, and 10× by 67. Translating into total net worth including home equity:

These are retirement-readiness benchmarks from Fidelity and T. Rowe Price, adjusted to include home equity for total net worth. They assume Social Security will provide 30% to 40% of pre-retirement income. If you expect no Social Security or plan to retire before 62, bump every row up by roughly 25%.