How Does Your Net Worth Compare To Other People In Your Age Group?

So what exactly are you worth on paper and how does it compare to other people? Net worth is an accounting of your personal financial value represented by subtracting everything you owe (student loans, credit cards, leases, mortgage, etc.) from all your assets or what you own (homes, cars, cash in accounts, or securities like stocks and bonds). This amount not only gives you a good idea of where you sit financially, but can help you make informed budgeting decisions, as far as how to allocate resources toward things like savings, investments, or paying off debt.

Published every three years, the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, last published in October 2023, found that the average net worth of U.S. households is $1.06 million, a number driven upward by the top percentile of wealthy households. As a result, taking a look at the median number (the middle value of the data set) would likely prove a more helpful comparison for the majority of people. That number is $192,900. As for where your net worth stands specifically among your age group, the Fed's survey provided information on that as well.

One way to make an accurate comparison of your net worth to others is to factor in your age. This said, as with the national average versus median number, there's a notable difference for age groups as well. So when you compare your net worth, it's important to keep this in mind and focus on the median instead. (On that note, here are five financial habits of millionaires that may surprise you.)

For example, if you're under 35 years old, the Fed's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances reports the average net worth of this group is $183,500 while the median is $39,000. So, if you're, say, 34 years old and your net worth is $80,000, though you're below the average, you have more than double half of those in your same age group. Here are the median net worths by age for six age groups (with the average in parentheses). Note that these numbers are based on the head of household's age:

• Less than 35: $39,000 ($183,500)
• Age 35 to 44: $135,600 ($549,600)
• Age 45 to 54: $247,200 ($975,800)
• Age 55 to 64: $364,500 ($1,566,900)
• Age 65 to 74: $409,900 ($1,794,600)
• 75 or more: $335,600 ($1,624,100)

According to the Federal Reserve, from 1989 to 2022, Americans with college degrees tended to have average net worth as much as 10 times or more higher than those with no high school diploma, and as much as five times higher than those with diplomas. In 2022, the average mean net worth of an individual without a high school education was $175,630, while the median was $38,050. High school graduates, meanwhile, have an average net worth of $413,280 and a median of $107,000, a difference of two to three times what non-grads average, depending on what end of the scale you compare.

Note, even having some college education without earning a degree can have a positive impact on your net worth, with people with some college having an average mean net worth of $540,870 and a median net worth of $137,040, which is surprisingly close to the median average of a high school graduate. (Speaking of which, here are 30 high-paying jobs that don't require a college degree.)

Without question, though, a college education gets you close to a high net worth with high earners averaging $1.9 million net worth and a median average of $464,400. If you're heading off to college, check out these college degrees most likely to pay off.