Net Worth By Age Calculator
What should your net worth be at your age? Two honest benchmarks exist. The first is empirical: the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances reports the median net worth for each age group, the number the typical household actually holds. The second is the classic Millionaire Next Door rule: expected net worth = age × annual income ÷ 10.
Enter your age, income, and net worth. The calculator places you against both benchmarks and tells you, in plain words, where you stand.
Net Worth by Age Calculator
Percentile Rank and 5-Year Band Breakpoints
See where your net worth ranks in the full distribution, with finer 5-year age bands and the 25th, 75th, 90th, and top-1% breakpoints.
Percentile is interpolated from the published 2022 SCF distribution (10th to 99th percentiles). Estimates, not exact ranks.
- Worked example
- How it works
- What competing net-worth-by-age tools get wrong
- Frequently asked questions
- Disclaimer
- Where you rank: percentile, not just the median
- Breakpoint table: 25th, median, 75th, 90th by 5-year band (2022 dollars)
- Top-1% thresholds by age (2022 dollars)
- Worked example
- Frequently asked questions
Worked example
Age 40, income $100,000, net worth $200,000:
- Age group: 35 to 44; 2022 SCF median: $135,600
- You vs the median: 1.47x (about $64,400 above typical)
- Millionaire Next Door expected: 40 × $100,000 ÷ 10 = $400,000
- You vs that rule: 0.50x (half the benchmark)
Above the typical household, below the wealth-builder benchmark. Both statements are true at once: the SCF median describes what is, the Millionaire Next Door rule describes what prodigious accumulators of wealth achieve. Use the first for context and the second for ambition.
How it works
Your exact age is mapped to the SCF’s published age bands (under 35, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75 or older), and your net worth is divided by that band’s 2022 median. Separately, the Millionaire Next Door formula (Stanley and Danko, The Millionaire Next Door) computes expected wealth as age × pre-tax income ÷ 10; hitting twice that figure marked a “prodigious accumulator of wealth” in their research.
What changed in this version: the previous calculator compared you against two made-up formulas, one of which ((age − 25) × income ÷ 5) appears in no published research, and decorated the verdict with emoji. This version uses the published SCF medians and the actual published Millionaire Next Door rule, with sources named.
What competing net-worth-by-age tools get wrong
Most publish a single “you should have X” number with no source, or they average the mean and median into mush. The mean is 4 to 5 times the median at every age, so any tool that blurs the two misleads. Naming both benchmarks, sourcing both, and showing the ratio keeps the comparison honest.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as net worth?
Assets minus debts: home equity, savings, investments, retirement accounts, minus mortgages, student loans, auto loans, and credit card balances.
Why compare to the median, not the average?
The average is pulled up by extreme wealth. The 2022 overall mean was $1,063,700 against a median of $192,900. The median is what “typical” means.
What is the Millionaire Next Door rule?
From Stanley and Danko’s research: expected net worth equals your age times pre-tax income divided by 10. It is a benchmark for strong accumulators, not a moral judgment.
Why am I below the rule but above the median?
Common. The median describes the typical household, which saves modestly; the rule describes disciplined wealth builders. Being between them is normal.
Does home equity count?
Yes, in the SCF definition used here. For middle-wealth families most net worth is home equity.
When does the data update?
The 2025 SCF summary is expected in late 2026. These are the 2022 figures, the latest published.
Disclaimer
This calculator is for general information and education only, using the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Benchmarks describe populations, not prescriptions. It is not financial advice.
Where you rank: percentile, not just the median
The panel below the main calculator places your net worth inside the full 2022 SCF distribution for your 10-year age band, interpolating between the published 10th and 99th percentiles. It also shows the 25th, median, 75th, and 90th breakpoints for your finer 5-year band, plus the top-1% threshold for your age group.
Breakpoint table: 25th, median, 75th, 90th by 5-year band (2022 dollars)
| Age | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 to 29 | $3,784 | $31,470 | $130,606 | $296,830 |
| 30 to 34 | $11,016 | $88,631 | $186,140 | $538,750 |
| 35 to 39 | $16,548 | $138,588 | $389,432 | $864,340 |
| 40 to 44 | $23,812 | $134,382 | $436,892 | $1,182,580 |
| 45 to 49 | $47,668 | $213,586 | $680,298 | $1,428,714 |
| 50 to 54 | $54,414 | $266,140 | $913,012 | $2,576,540 |
| 55 to 59 | $84,977 | $321,074 | $1,137,318 | $2,672,160 |
| 60 to 64 | $80,372 | $392,860 | $1,131,122 | $3,042,280 |
| 65 to 69 | $68,972 | $393,480 | $1,154,552 | $2,961,060 |
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2022, five-year-band analysis.
Top-1% thresholds by age (2022 dollars)
| Age | Top 1% starts at |
|---|---|
| 20 to 29 | $2,111,930 |
| 30 to 39 | $4,027,205 |
| 40 to 49 | $8,356,398 |
| 50 to 59 | $14,402,890 |
| 60 to 69 | $19,317,884 |
| 70 and older | $17,963,240 |
Worked example
Age 40, net worth $200,000: the 40 to 44 band breakpoints are 25th $23,812, median $134,382, 75th $436,892, 90th $1,182,580. Against the 40 to 49 distribution, $200,000 lands at about the 52nd percentile. The top 1% for ages 40 to 49 starts at $8,356,398.
Frequently asked questions
What net worth puts me in the top 10% for my age?
Use the 90th column above for your 5-year band: for example, about $1,182,580 at ages 40 to 44, or $2,672,160 at 55 to 59, in 2022 dollars.
How is the percentile estimated?
By linear interpolation between the published 10th-to-99th percentile anchors of the 2022 SCF distribution for your 10-year age band. It is an estimate from grouped data, not an exact rank.