Net Worth Calculator

What is net worth?

Net worth is the gap between what you own and what you owe. That's it. Income tells you how much money is flowing in. Savings rate tells you how much you're keeping. Net worth tells you the score — the only number that captures whether all the cash flow is actually compounding into something.

Most people radically misjudge their financial position because they look at one piece — a 401(k) balance, a paycheck, a credit card debt — without seeing the whole picture. A high salary with no savings and a big mortgage is a fragile position. A modest salary with consistent investing and no debt is a strong one. Net worth makes that contrast obvious.

The math

The formula is intentionally trivial:

Net Worth = Total Assets − Total Liabilities

Assets are anything you own that holds value: cash, taxable investments, retirement accounts, real estate (at current market value), vehicles (at trade-in value, not what you paid), crypto, business equity.

Liabilities are anything you owe: mortgage balance, student loans, credit-card revolving debt, auto loans, personal debts.

The output is one of three things:

• Positive net worth — you own more than you owe. Most homeowners with steady savings end up here.
• Net positive but leveraged (debt-to-asset > 50%) — you own more than you owe, but a lot of your assets are financed. Common for new homeowners.
• Underwater (negative net worth) — you owe more than you own. Usually happens with student loans or high-interest credit-card debt early in a career. It's a starting line, not a verdict.

Net worth is the only number that tells you if all the cash flow is actually compounding into something.

How to fill this out

1. Real estate at market value. Use Zillow, Redfin, or a recent appraisal. Don't use what you paid years ago. The mortgage balance goes in liabilities — the difference is your equity.
2. Retirement accounts at face value. 401(k), IRA, Roth — all in. Don't apply tax discounts unless you want to track a "post-tax net worth" separately.
3. Vehicles at trade-in value. Use Kelley Blue Book or similar. Cars are depreciating assets — treat them accordingly.
4. Crypto at today's price. Don't anchor on what you paid. Update at each tracking interval.
5. Don't double-count. If you have $10k in cash that's earmarked for an emergency fund, it's still cash. If you have a 529 for a kid's education, decide once whether that's "yours" — most people don't include it.

What the number tells you

The single number is less useful than the trajectory. Track net worth quarterly. Look for:

• Year-over-year growth — should be positive in most years. If it's flat or declining despite working, your spending or debt service is eating your savings.
• Liquid vs illiquid mix — if 90% of your net worth is locked in real estate and retirement, you're rich on paper but cash-poor. Brittle.
• Debt-to-asset ratio — should drop over time as you pay down mortgages and student loans. If it's rising, you're acquiring debt faster than assets.
• Net worth vs FIRE number — your FIRE number is the net-worth target where work becomes optional. Tracking the gap is the most useful long-range metric in personal finance.

What this doesn't show

• Quality of debt. A $400k mortgage at 3.5% is very different from $20k of credit-card debt at 22%. The calculator just sums; you have to read the picture.
• Cash flow. Two people with identical net worth can be in very different positions if one is bleeding cash monthly and the other is saving 30% of income.
• Future obligations. Kids, college, aging parents, planned home renovations — none of these are liabilities yet but they will be. Net worth tells you where you are, not where the road is going.
• Career capital. A 28-year-old with $50k net worth and rare skills may be in a stronger position than a 55-year-old with $500k and a fragile career.