How to use this calculator
Enter your age and your net worth. The calculator finds your age band, estimates which percentile you fall in, and shows the whole percentile ladder for that band so you can see what the next rung costs.
If you do not know your net worth, work it out on the net worth calculator first. Use realistic current values: what the house would actually sell for, and the latest statement balance on every account.
Why a percentile beats an average
Averages are useless here. A handful of very large fortunes drags the mean far above what a typical household holds, so an average makes almost everyone feel behind. The median - the 50th percentile - is the middle household, and half of people sit on each side of it.
Age matters just as much. Someone who has been earning for 40 years has had four decades of compounding that a 30-year-old has not. Comparing across ages measures time served, not financial health, which is why this tool compares you only to people in your own band.
What the gaps between percentiles tell you
The distance from the 25th to the 50th percentile is small. The distance from the 90th to the 95th is enormous. That is what a wealth distribution looks like: the top of the ladder is spaced much further apart than the bottom.
The practical read is that moving up early is easier than it looks, and moving up late is harder than it looks. Paying off a car loan can move a younger household several percentiles. At the top of the table, the same dollar amount barely registers.
What this number does not tell you
It does not tell you whether you can retire. Two households with the same net worth can be in completely different positions: one with a pension and a paid-off house, one with a large mortgage and a portfolio that has to produce every dollar of income.
It also counts home equity, which you cannot spend without selling or borrowing. A household can sit well above the median on paper and still be short of accessible money, which is why the net worth calculator reports liquid net worth separately.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good net worth for my age?
There is no single good number, but the median for your age band is the honest benchmark: half of US households your age are above it and half below. Use the table on this page to find yours. Being above the median does not mean you are on track to retire, and being below it does not mean you are not.
What net worth puts me in the top 10%?
The 90th percentile column in the table. It rises steeply with age, from around $356,000 for households under 35 to roughly $3.6 million for 65 and over, because the figure reflects a lifetime of saving and asset growth rather than income alone.
Does net worth include my home and my 401(k)?
Yes, both. Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe, so it counts home equity, retirement accounts, taxable investments, cash and vehicles, less the mortgage and every other debt. It does not count a pension you have not yet received, which is one reason pensioned households look poorer on this measure than they are.
Where do these percentile figures come from?
The Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, the same source used in our net worth by age percentile article. The survey runs every three years, so the figures move slowly and the newest wave is always a couple of years behind the present.
How is my exact percentile calculated?
The survey publishes figures at the 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 95th percentiles. Between those points the calculator interpolates on a logarithmic scale, because wealth is distributed log-normally and a straight line between two points would badly understate where a mid-range figure lands. It is an estimate, not a survey result.
Why does the estimate stop at the 95th percentile?
Because the published table stops there, and the very top of the distribution is where a public summary is least reliable. Rather than invent numbers above the last anchor, the calculator reports the top 5% and leaves it at that.
Keep reading
- Net worth by age percentile: the full guide
- Net worth calculator: work out your number first
- Liquid net worth vs net worth
- How to increase your net worth
- Learning Center: taxes in retirement
- All free calculators
This calculator gives estimates for education only. It is not personalized financial, tax or legal advice. Check your numbers with a qualified professional before you make a decision.