Net Worth Calculator
Total assets minus total debts, projected forward from your savings rate, asset growth and the payments you make toward debt.
What this calculator does
This calculator produces your net worth — total assets minus total debts — and then shows how that figure changes over time given your savings rate, the growth on your assets, and the payments you make toward debt. It returns your final net worth alongside the asset and debt balances that produce it.
The single number is the point of the exercise. Bank balances, retirement accounts, home equity, and loans normally live in separate places and get looked at separately. Netting them into one figure is the only way to see whether your overall position improved this year, which no individual account statement can tell you.
When to use it
Use it as a periodic checkpoint — quarterly is about right — to see whether your position is genuinely improving. It is the most reliable single measure of financial progress, because it cannot be flattered by a high income or hidden by a large mortgage the way individual figures can.
It is also the right calculation before a major decision. Taking on a mortgage, funding a business, or deciding whether to pay down debt or invest all change assets and liabilities together, and net worth is what shows the combined effect. Use it too when a large purchase feels affordable on cash flow — a financed car often reduces net worth on the day it is bought.
Understanding the inputs
Total assets should combine everything you own at realistic current value: cash, savings, brokerage accounts, 401(k) and IRA balances, home market value, vehicle trade-in value, and any business interest. Value the home conservatively and the car at trade-in, not purchase price.
Total debts is everything you owe at current payoff balance — mortgage, student loans, auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, and any tax owed. Use the balance, not the monthly payment. The remaining fields project forward: monthly savings added, the growth rate on your assets, monthly debt payments, and the number of years. A 5 to 7 percent asset growth rate is reasonable if most of your assets are invested; use less if home equity dominates.
How is this calculated?
net worth calculator
A worked example
Suppose you own a home worth $420,000, hold $180,000 in retirement accounts, $45,000 in savings, and a car worth $22,000 — total assets of $667,000. Against that sit a $310,000 mortgage, $28,000 of student loans, a $14,000 auto loan, and $6,000 on credit cards, totaling $358,000. Your net worth is $309,000.
That figure is above the US median household net worth of roughly $192,900, but the composition matters more than the level. Home equity is $110,000 of it and retirement accounts another $180,000, so only $45,000 is genuinely accessible. Liquid net worth — the $45,000 of savings set against $48,000 of student, auto, and credit card debt — is actually slightly negative.
Limitations and assumptions
Net worth is a gross figure that ignores the tax embedded in it. A traditional 401(k) balance is pre-tax money, appreciated stock carries a capital gains liability, and a home sale costs 6 to 8 percent in transaction fees. Two people with identical net worth can have very different amounts actually available.
It also depends entirely on your valuations, and home and business values are estimates that tend to run optimistic. The projection assumes a steady asset growth rate with no market falls, no major purchases or sales, and no change in income — none of which holds across a decade. Treat the trajectory as a direction of travel, not a forecast, and remember that projected returns are not guaranteed.
Common Questions
- What counts as an asset?
- Anything you own that could be converted to cash: checking and savings balances, brokerage and retirement accounts, the market value of your home, vehicles, and any business ownership. Value them at what you could realistically sell for today, not what you paid. Personal possessions are usually too small and too illiquid to bother with.
- Should I include my 401(k) and IRA?
- Yes, at their full current balance. Some people exclude them because the money is not accessible, but net worth measures what you own rather than what you can spend. If you want a separate accessible figure, calculate liquid net worth by excluding retirement accounts and home equity.
- How do I value my house?
- Use a conservative estimate of what it would sell for, then subtract 6 to 8 percent for agent commission and closing costs if you want the number you would actually walk away with. Online estimates from listing sites can be off by 10 percent either way, so treat them as a starting point rather than an appraisal.
- What is a good net worth for my age?
- One common benchmark is age times gross income divided by ten — so $80,000 of income at 40 suggests $320,000. The 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances put US median household net worth at about $192,900. Both are context, not targets; your trajectory matters more than your percentile.
- Why is my net worth negative?
- Usually student loans, a recent car purchase, or an underwater mortgage — all normal in your twenties and early thirties. A negative figure with a rising trend is a completely different situation from a negative figure holding flat. Track the direction over a few quarters before drawing conclusions from the level.
- Should my car count as an asset?
- Yes, but at trade-in value rather than what you paid. A new car loses roughly 20 percent in year one and about 60 percent over five years, so a vehicle bought with a loan often creates negative equity for the first two or three years. Include the loan in full regardless.
- How often should I calculate it?
- Quarterly is the sweet spot. Monthly makes market noise feel like progress or failure, and annually is too infrequent to catch a drift. Use the same valuation method each time so the comparison is meaningful — consistency matters more than precision.
- Does net worth account for taxes I will owe?
- No, and that is a genuine gap. A $200,000 traditional 401(k) is worth perhaps $150,000 after income tax on withdrawal, while a Roth IRA of the same size is worth the full amount. Appreciated stock in a taxable account carries an embedded capital gains liability too. Net worth measures gross value.
- Is net worth more useful than income?
- For measuring financial position, yes. Income tells you what flows through; net worth tells you what stuck. Two people earning $150,000 can have net worths a million dollars apart, and the gap is entirely explained by what they spent. Income is a rate, net worth is the accumulated result.
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