Your net worth is like a scorecard of your financial health. If you see this number steadily increasing throughout your life, you should feel confident that you are on the right track.
Your liabilities, which include your mortgage balance, school loans, credit card debt, and any other money you may owe, are subtracted from your assets, which include cash savings, investments, your home’s value, and other property. This yields your net worth.
If you’ve just graduated from college with a large amount of student debt and little savings, getting your net worth back to $0 can feel like an impossible challenge. On the other hand, people nearing retirement age may wonder if they are truly wealthy enough to quit their jobs. Comparing your net worth to the average net worth of your peers can give you peace of mind about your situation and increase your motivation to catch up or surpass your peers.
This is what the average American is worth at different ages.
Median Net Worth in America by Age
According to the latest available data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, the median net worth of American households was $192,700 at the end of 2022. is. Note that this is much smaller than the arithmetic mean of $1.06 million, since very wealthy households skew the average significantly. Therefore, it is better to look at the median net worth to determine whether you are above or below average.
As you might expect, your net worth tends to increase as you get older because you have more time to save and pay off debt. But some people end up going in the wrong direction, accumulating more debt than savings over time. Additionally, net worth decreases slightly in retirement as people use up their retirement savings or donate more assets.
This is the median net worth by age group, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve Board.
| UNDER 35 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65-74 | OVER 74 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median net worth | $39,040 | $135,300 | $246,700 | $364,270 | $410,000 | $334,700 |
If you find that your net worth is higher than the average for your age, congratulations! Be careful to keep your foot off the pedal and stay on course. If you don’t, you may not do well financially in the future.
If you’re behind your age group, there may still be time to catch up. Even if you’re nearing retirement age and have below-average assets, there are things you can do to improve your standing.
How to Maximize Your Net Worth
There are two aspects to increasing your net worth. One is to pay down debt and the other is to increase savings and investments. It’s important to balance both to get the most out of your money.
Debt is not inherently bad. When used correctly, it can be a great tool for maximizing your net worth over the long term.
For example, it often makes sense to take out a mortgage to buy a home. Additionally, since mortgage interest rates are relatively low and refinancing is easy, it usually makes sense to maintain mortgage debt in favor of savings and investments. The same is often true for student loans.
However, if you have high-interest debt, such as credit cards, it usually makes the most sense to pay off that debt as soon as possible. With interest rates often in the mid-20s or higher, it’s much harder to find a better return on investment than paying off a credit card.
Investing in the stock market is one of the easiest ways to increase your net worth. The government also offers a variety of tax-advantaged retirement accounts to help you save and invest your money. Additionally, her employer may offer a match on her 401(k), which can also help increase her net worth. Saving regularly in a retirement account is a great way to grow your net worth.
No matter where your current net worth is, you have the power to improve it. Continually paying off high-interest debt and building a retirement or investment account will add up over time.
