Short answer: net worth = everything you own minus everything you owe. Add your assets and debts, and this calculator also shows your liquid net worth (the stricter, house-and-retirement-excluded version) and your debt-to-asset ratio. Example household: $588,000 of assets and $344,500 of debts → a net worth of $243,500, with debts equal to 58.6% of assets.
| Total assets | — |
| Total debts | — |
| Liquid net worth (cash + non-retirement investments − all debts) | — |
| Debt-to-asset ratio | — |
See the full breakdown
Educational only — not financial advice. Use what each asset could realistically sell for and what you actually owe today. Liquid net worth here = cash + non-retirement investments − ALL debts (a deliberately strict measure; your home and retirement accounts are excluded on the asset side only).
How this calculator works
Total assets minus total liabilities — the same one-line formula the Federal Reserve uses in its household wealth statistics. The two extra measures are the value-adds: liquid net worth (cash plus non-retirement investments, minus all debts) tells you what shape you’d be in if you couldn’t sell the house or touch retirement accounts; the debt-to-asset ratio tells you how much of everything you own is claimed by lenders.
Worked example
- Assets: cash $8,000 + investments $45,000 + retirement $60,000 + home $450,000 + vehicles $25,000 = $588,000.
- Debts: mortgage $320,000 + auto $18,000 + cards $6,500 = $344,500.
- Net worth = $243,500; liquid net worth = -$291,500; debt-to-asset = 58.6%.
- Younger renter check: assets $10,000, debts $26,200 → net worth $-16,200 — a normal, fixable starting point.
FAQs
Should I count my house? Yes, at a realistic sale value — and count the mortgage on the other side. Just don’t spend the equity in your head; that’s what the liquid figure is for. My net worth is negative. Now what? Track it quarterly. The number improves from both ends — every dollar saved and every dollar of principal repaid. Direction beats level at the start. How often should I recalculate? Quarterly is plenty. This is a slow number by design.
Sources: Federal Reserve: changes in U.S. family finances 2019-2022 (SCF) Figures last verified Report a wrong number