Net Worth Calculator

How This Calculator Works

Net worth is what you own (assets) minus what you owe (liabilities). Enter your major asset values — cash and savings, investments and retirement accounts, real estate, vehicles, and anything else of value — and your liabilities — mortgage balance, auto loans, credit card debt, student loans, and anything else you owe. This calculator adds up each side and subtracts to give your net worth.

A positive net worth means your assets outweigh your debts; a negative net worth means the reverse, which is common (and not alarming on its own) for people early in their careers carrying student loan or mortgage debt against assets that haven’t had time to grow yet. Net worth is a snapshot, not a verdict — what matters more for most people is the trend over time as debts shrink and assets grow.

The Formula

$$\text{Net Worth} = \vA{\text{Total Assets}} - \vB{\text{Total Liabilities}}$$

Worked Example

1. Total assets: $10,000 cash + $50,000 investments + $350,000 home value + $15,000 vehicle + $5,000 other = $430,000.
2. Total liabilities: $250,000 mortgage + $8,000 auto loan + $2,000 credit card + $15,000 student loans = $275,000.
3. Net worth: $\vA{\$430{,}000} - \vB{\$275{,}000} = \$155{,}000$.

Common Mistakes

• Using purchase price instead of current market value. A home or car bought years ago is usually worth a different amount today — assets should reflect what they’d realistically sell for now, not what was originally paid.
• Forgetting a liability that isn’t a traditional loan. A HELOC balance, a tax bill owed, or money borrowed from a retirement account against its own balance are all real liabilities that are easy to leave out if “debt” is only thought of as loans and credit cards.
• Treating illiquid assets the same as cash. A retirement account or home equity is real net worth, but it isn’t immediately spendable the way a savings account balance is — useful to keep in mind when net worth alone doesn’t tell you how much you could access quickly.