Where does your wealth rank compared to other Americans your age? This calculator shows your exact net worth percentile nationally and by age group, with personalized insights based on your position.
Enter your net worth below to see how you compare to others and get actionable recommendations for your wealth-building journey.
Median Net Worth by Age (2024)
Net worth varies dramatically by age as people accumulate wealth over their careers. Here are the benchmarks:
| Age Group | Median | 75th Percentile | 90th Percentile | Top 1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | $10,800 | $28,000 | $55,000 | $350,000 |
| 25-34 | $39,000 | $120,000 | $280,000 | $1.8M |
| 35-44 | $135,600 | $350,000 | $800,000 | $5M |
| 45-54 | $247,200 | $600,000 | $1.4M | $8M |
| 55-64 | $364,500 | $950,000 | $2.2M | $12M |
| 65-74 | $409,900 | $1,050,000 | $2.4M | $14M |
| 75+ | $335,600 | $850,000 | $2M | $11M |
Data Source
All figures from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) 2022, the most comprehensive wealth survey in the United States. The SCF is conducted every three years and includes detailed asset and debt information from thousands of households.
Key Wealth Statistics
Why the Median and Mean Differ So Much
The mean net worth ($1.06M) is over 5x higher than the median ($192,084) because wealth is extremely concentrated at the top. The richest 1% own more wealth than the entire bottom 90% combined. The median is a better measure of “typical” American wealth.
What Counts as Net Worth?
Net worth = Total Assets – Total Liabilities. This includes:
- Assets: Home equity, retirement accounts (401k, IRA), brokerage accounts, savings, vehicles, real estate, business equity
- Liabilities: Mortgage balance, student loans, car loans, credit card debt, personal loans
What Your Percentile Means
If You’re in the Top 10% (90th percentile or above)
Your wealth provides significant optionality. At this level, focus shifts to:
- Tax optimization and asset location strategies
- Estate planning and wealth transfer
- Diversification across asset classes (including alternatives)
- Protecting wealth from inflation and market volatility
If You’re Between 50th-90th Percentile
You’re building wealth successfully. Key priorities:
- Maximize tax-advantaged accounts (401k, backdoor Roth, HSA)
- Increase savings rate by 1-2% annually
- Ensure proper asset allocation for your time horizon
- Consider real estate or other wealth-building strategies
If You’re Below 50th Percentile
Focus on the fundamentals:
- Build emergency fund (3-6 months expenses)
- Pay down high-interest debt aggressively
- Increase income through skills development or side income
- Start investing consistently, even small amounts
Ready to Accelerate Your Wealth Building?
Take the free FI Assessment to see your full financial picture and get personalized recommendations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate my net worth?
Add up all your assets (home value, retirement accounts, savings, investments, vehicles, etc.) and subtract all your debts (mortgage, student loans, car loans, credit cards, etc.). The result is your net worth. Include your spouse/partner’s assets and debts for household net worth.
Should I include my home in net worth?
Yes. Include your home’s current market value as an asset and your mortgage balance as a liability. The difference (home equity) contributes to your net worth. However, some people track “investable net worth” separately, which excludes home equity.
Why do the demographic filters change my percentile?
Wealth varies significantly by education, race, marital status, and family structure. A college graduate typically has higher net worth than someone without a degree at the same age. The filters help you compare to people in similar situations rather than the general population.
What percentile should I target?
There’s no universal target—it depends on your goals. A more useful metric is whether your net worth supports your desired lifestyle and retirement timeline. Someone at the 60th percentile with low expenses may be closer to financial independence than someone at the 90th percentile with high spending.
How often is this data updated?
The Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is conducted every three years. The current data is from the 2022 survey (released in 2023). The next survey will be in 2025, with data released in 2026.
Related Tools
- Income Percentile Calculator – See where your income ranks
- Retirement Calculator – Calculate how much you need
- Budget Worksheet – Track spending and savings rate
- FI Assessment – Comprehensive financial independence score
- Best Vanguard Funds – Where to invest your wealth
Karen Seal says
Hi,
I enjoy your writing and analysis. My question: What are your thoughts about selling highly appreciated stocks and stock index funds now, paying capital gains on the growth, and reinvesting in Wellington Fund? We’re sitting on large gains (we’re in our 70’s) but agree that successful market timing is illusory. If we sell to reposition, we’ll obviously have diminished cash to reinvest after paying taxes of 25%+. LTCG income tax rates are now low by historical standards. We already have more than the $80,000 that we can get annually in LTCG and Qualified Dividends that are tax-free, so selling our funds & stocks will cause us to be subject to the LTCG taxes, both federal and state. We feel “stuck” with these large gains! What a problem to have, right?
Mike says
What sources are you citing for your numbers
Veronica says
Hi Mike – I used python to mine through a variety of government databases, from the census to the IRS to the federal reserve.
Veronica says
Hey Karen! Thanks for your questions. It’s hard to answer without knowing more details. Feel free to write me a private message (see My Story) link to discuss directly. The answer to your question really depends on how much you have in the stocks and stock index funds as a % of your total net worth, and what exactly are those stocks. In general, you don’t need to transfer a Fortune 500 to a Wellington, but if a large chunk of your stock portfolio is in a few single stocks, then no matter what these stocks are, it might be too risky such that you would want to consider selling some and transferring them to Wellington or at the very least another diversified index fund. Another question I have is whether you plan on using up all of your money before you die, or plan on passing some down to your children as inheritance. This is important because if you pass your stocks to your children, then they no longer have to pay for those capital gains earned under your ownership. So another strategy many wealthy people deploy is to keep holding those significantly appreciated stocks and simply pass them to the future generations.
John Carhart Ebeling says
Hi Mike. I’m 57 and worth 2.8MM cash. My wealth crashed in the Great Recession as most of the solds my broker had me in at the time were low P/E ratio stocks – many of which went bankrupt. Net net, I was unable to recoup or grow any of these assets. So I took it all out and bought a few homes, flipped and kept doing it. Now I am extremely worried about investing in stocks as the invest and ride it out strategy for me at least failed. Getting to my question: If I am in this “Fatfire” territory, what “no think” let it ride investment should I make to maximise this compound interest effect you mentioned. Should I just put it in a vanguard fund? what could I expect as compound gain over say 5 and 10 years? THANK YOU!
Anonymous says
Apologies – I meant Veronica! not Mike
Veronica says
Hi John, it’s very understandable that you are wary of investing in stocks again given your experience, but try to prevent your personal biases from tainting the right decisions for your future.
If you are already in the FatFIRE territory, congratulations, now it’s time to preserve AND grow. I recommend you looking into the Vanguard Wellington Fund as a good place to start (note this is only available inside your retirement account, aka 401K or IRA), I wrote a whole post on this fund so make sure you check it out.
If you don’t have access to the Vanguard Wellington Fund, then maybe a Vanguard Balanced Fund of 60% Stocks and 60% Bonds – check out my “Best Vanguard Funds” article for more details. It also doesn’t hurt to invest a little bit of your money into the S&P 500 or the Total U.S. Stock Market Fund, just make sure you don’t dump all of your money.
I’d also encourage you to think about your financial investments in 10-year periods, not 5, because business cycles typically operate in 5-10 year periods so you want to be able to ride at least one of them out. If you do want to invest a lot of money into stocks, I recommend you dollar average it in – meaning, you invest a little bit every two weeks over the course of a year or two, so that you are not screwed over by bad timing.
Overall, do not become too greedy or too careful, keep investing, but invest with caution! And if the market does crash, keep calm and keep investing, have faith that we will recover with enough time. You are only 57, the best years are still ahead of you.
Anonymous says
Nice article. Please provide direct sources as appendices to your chart.
Eric says
Well done! Best article I have found so far in this space. Love the chart based upon age and NW to give you a percentile.
Anonymous says
Hi, could you pls add what year the data you are using are from? If this is based on 2019 US census, the numbers could be seriously outdated.
Veronica says
Hi – this is 2019 which is the latest data on all net worth US data as it comes from the federal reserve, and they haven’t updated it since 2019. Any site that that has net worth data beyond 2019 is guessing as the fed has the only available data on net worth