I absolutely love using the calculators at CNNMoney.com. There are so many cool ones that I use frequently. They have one for housing prices, cost of living comparison, retirement needs, saving for college, etc. I actually just stumbled across one for the average net worth of Americans. All you have to do is enter in your age and current salary and it give you two charts. The first chart shows you the average net worth of individuals in your age group. The second chart shows you the average net worth of individuals in your income range. I’m not sure how helpful the second one would be since it compares the salary against any age. If I am making $50,000 as a 22 year old, of course someone making $50,000 as a 50 year old will have a larger net worth than me (I hope they do). Anyway, here are the averages for different age groups:
Under 25
$1,475
25-34
$8,525
35-44
$51,575
45-54
$98,350
55-64
$180,125
65 and Over
$232,000
Where do you stack up against these numbers? Personally, we are no where near the average for our age group. I mean we are not even in the same zip code. I imagine that has to do with the fact that we both used a lot of student debt to earn our degrees and we own no real estate.
Do you think these numbers reflect the recent turmoil in the stock market? The calculator did not have a certain date on it (i.e. “this chart is based on the 2000 census”). However, I hope that it takes into account the recent decline. The net worth of individuals should be much higher than these averages. You should strive to be much higher than these averages.
Woo! We’re above average for our age group! It’s not that hard when you’re in the “under 25″ group though. I don’t think they realistically reflect recent economic trends, but I do think that they are somewhat accurate of when they were put together.
These averages are depressingly low, but then, I look at myself and realize that I’m right there. The 55-64 group is surprisingly low to me. I can’t imagine trying to retire on that small of a nest egg.
@Jeff – I would call above average in that group great! Like I said, most individuals in that group have some sort of student debt. If you have a positive net worth coming out of college, you are heading in the right direction.
@Mike – I think they are depressingly low too, especially if these are numbers BEFORE the stock market crash. No wonder we have so many relying on government aid.
These numbers do seem too low, but I’m glad to see that I’m far above the average for my age range. And yes, Mike, I can’t see anyone in the 55-64 bracket retiring if their net worth is “only” $232K.
I love these kinds of calculators, I really do. That’s because I’m a PF dork!
Our income level about matches the average, but our net worth is much higher. We made lots of really great financial choices over the last few years, and we’ve been able to save a lot of money as a result. Living in our mobile home for 3 years and then selling it really made a huge difference, considering we had it paid off in just over 1 year. That, coupled with the cars we owned outright meaning no debt what-so-ever, means that we were able to put a lot of money into the bank on a single income supporting a family of 4.
After the recent drop, my 10 yr old’s college account dropped to about the net worth for my age, 45-54. That number is sad.
Hmmm, seems amazingly low! You sure your getting the right statistics?
From the comments here alone, most are above average.
So am I frankly, but I don’t want to say how much, b/c it’ll sound like I’m bragging. $8,500 for 25-34 year olds? Come on, that can’t be right.
Best, FS
Financial Samurai´s lastest post ..You’re Rejected! How I Use Rejection To Motivate Me Every Single Day
Hey dorks!… these are Median values…….Not Averages. Please stop saying Averages. Averages will be MUCH higher do to extremely high income individuals. Median values are not effected as much by high income individuals and therefore are much more accurate. So yes…the Median numbers are true and very disappointing….
Yeah I’m 24 with close to 100k networth. And I still see myself as un successful. These numbers cannot be even close
If you have ammassed that amount of net worth in your short working career, I admire you immensely.
While I am not in your age category, I am in my mid 50′s, have put kids through college ( and helped with Medical School) I have been a saver much of my life, and between pure savings, retirement savings, and home equity, ( not including personal property), my net work is north of $1.25 million, with close to $800,000 of that being savings and qualified plan savings (401k) and I feel unbelievably not ready for retirement a few years down the road… oh yeah… My only debt is about $160K of real estate mortgage debt…
It’s depressing how low these numbers are – even if you’re above average you’ll probably fall short of your retirement goals. Do you have numbers for what your networth should be for your age group?
living of dividends & Passive income´s lastest post ..Trading & Investing Strategies for the Current Environment
As someone who lives in a household making around $120k per year and owning $800k in property, I would say that I would have rather saved all of that money. I lay in my bed at night wondering what it would be like to have some money in my checking account after all the bills and taxes im currently paying off.
So these numbers include real estate holdings? If so, that’s really depressing. I don’t own a home anymore, but even at my age and income level, my $$ saved for retirement are almost 3X the number the calculator shows. I’m old and would like to retire in 3-5 years, but I still feel like I need twice as much as I currently have.
Remember, having a $200k net worth at age 60 isn’t bad if you own a $100k home outright, have a pension (public employee, or older UAW worker, etc) and live 60 miles outside of, say, Milwaukee or Cincinati. It’s another story entirely if you’re a marketing ‘professional’ with a mortgage, living in the Boston or San Fran suburbs. But what % of Americans live in subsidized housing or trailer homes? I doubt many of them have six figures in the bank.
Here’s one. I live in a paid for double wide (AKA trailer) on 7 acres with way above six figures in the bank.
Average numbers do seem low. However, once you input your income they seem to be more in line, so I have a hard time calling out the calculator.
I did a search about net worth and came across this article. Its from the U.S. Census Bureau. Data is a few years old, but its still interesting. How do you stack up?
http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p70-88.pdf
I recently turned 25, put myself through school (not cheap), bought my own house at 20, and still managed to grow my net worth to over 100k (not tied up in illiquid real estate).
That being said, people (of all age groups) could easily exceed these modest net worth averages by not placing so much value on materialism. Friends of mine (both old and young), have incomes in the hundreds of thousands (and some millions) per year. Yet have little, if any, saved relative to their income.
It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you save. Instead of buying that thousand dollar flat-screen, make your IRA contributions; if you don’t need a $400k house, don’t buy it, the tax deduction isn’t worth the false-esteem it provides; sacrifice for the sake of others.
I love all these 20 or 25 yr old kids who have
100K or more net worth.its apparant Daddy or Grandpa has helped you out because paper route restraunts and entry level jobs do not get you this
@ Jeff
I love that you suggest paper routes, restaurants and entry level jobs do not get you this…I just turned 30 and have saved $117,000 over the course of my jobs, starting with my paper route in the 6th grade, restaurant work throughout high school and college, and entry-level positions (at non-profits no less!). I’ve also managed to buy my own car, and am regularly paying off my student loans (one more year to go!)
Oh, and Daddy and Grandpa haven’t loaned me a dime, thank you very much!
I paid my way through school while working full time and emerged with no debt. I spent the time from 21 – 23 working 80 – 100 hour weeks and now support my father, not vice versa. Despite this I am about to turn 24 with a net worth of 120k.
Your comment is quite presumptuous / obnoxious.
Liar
My net worth at nearly 49 years is ~1.25 Million. Worked since I was 15 years old, finished high school, paid my way through some college (some debt) before joining the service for 6 years in the mid-late 80′s, finished college while in the service, debt free, got a technical job and worked overtime whenever offered. Worked my tail off my whole life so far. Probably lost upwards of 600K in the 2 recessions being the dot-com bust and the “Great Recession” of the last 3 years. Married a long time, >25 years w/2 kids and still act and think the same as when I was a teenager. No one has or is going to give me anything. I had to earn all of it. Proud? No, just know the reality of life. Taught by Great Depression mentality of my Father. Always am talking to my kids. They seem sensible about things such as this. Hope they remember these conversations we have. People need more than they think by these charts. By 55 I hope to “retire” to another location, still work if I have to but probably will even if I don’t, part time if nothing, just to be active. I figure that a person with a paid off home, can hope to “retire” at about 55-60 years old if they have about 750K-1M stashed. Medical I assume is covered at that time by employer (if you are lucky) to take you to 67 for Medicare. I figure a minimum amount needed monthly is about $3,200-$3,500 to live in the paid off home and be comfortable. This will cover all taxes, insurance, food, utilities, clothing, auto repairs, little bit of travel but not much, and other sundries. NO EXTRAVAGANCES. Anything able to be gotten above that is gravy. Once you hit 62, Social Security can kick in and help out, and the outlay from the 750K-1M initial can start to be built back up from prior withdrawals, hopefully to the point that it becomes self sustaining with positive cash flows into instead of out. Wish all well and hope those that need to save start doing so as soon as they are back on their feet from this terrible economic situation we are in now.
Once I hit 62, (I’m 28 now) I do not expect Social Security to be able to pay me a dime! Anyone my age expecting social security when they retire is in for a real bad surprise and should be saving more than current experts suggest. Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme by a gentler moniker!
I’m 25 and in the army, I have a lot of my money in my ira, tsp, and some stocks. While most of the idiots in the army waste their money, buy big trucks, or pop out a dozen kids, I save my money. My net worth is over 150k. I haven’t went to college because I would rather save a lot of money in the beginning of my life then be riddled with debt and no savings for compound interest. Don’t listen to all the teachers who brainwash kids about how great college is and how much you’ll make compared to high school graduates.
First off let me say many of the people here who have commented are doing a great job on there future retirement goals. I for one have been a saver and took it further by realizing that it is not what you save but how much you spend. I realized in a foreign country like Thailand where I reside now I can live off my savings very easily. My cost of living has gone down to one forth what it was in the U.S. It’s amazing how good my standard of living is now far surpassing what I ever imagined before I left the U.S. I live in a 2 bedroom 2 bath luxury condo on the 19th floor with views that stretch out to the horizon and a beautiful lake at my feet with every imenity you could want eat organic foods the best health care and insurance
transportation is provided cheap by taxis everywhere at my beck and call.
The beauty of this is my savings are not being depleted like you would imagine because the interest from my investments go so much further than they ever would in the overpriced hype of the U.S.
Let’s face the facts if your contemplating retirement early you can do it easily outside the U.S. on far less money than you think.
I turn 51 soon and my net worth is $1.06 million. I do not own any real estate unless you include a time share (and I don’t count that in my net worth). I am interested in knowing what the net worth of people in Los Angeles Beach cities are, such as Redondo Beach. I see that AGI’s are lower than my income. Yet house prices are sky high. I suspect people are thinking that real estate is their retirement plan. I have 56% stocks, 11% precious metals, and 32 or 33% government securities. And I am nowhere near retirement. I would be bored! Not sure if I want to own a house anyway. The ones in my area are under 1,000 square feet and are valued at $600k. Not worth it.
@Jeff
I don’t think one necessarily has to be a trust fund baby in order to have a high net worth at 25 years old as Jeff previously stated. I started working by mowing lawns and working as a caddy when I was 12. As soon as I was old enough to work I had a summer job. I paid for my own cell phone, own gasoline, and own car insurance. Any additional money I put into a Roth IRA. I will contend that my parents loaned me their 11 year old used car to use while I was in high school. However, upon my entrance to college they sold the car. I am currently going to college on full academic scholarship for 4 years to study civil engineering. I was offered a $46,000 a year co-op position this spring with a starting salary of $68,000 with the company upon graduation. This salary will help me pay for my meals, books, and allow me to pay off a new car before graduation.
I think it is very conceivable for a self made man or woman to achieve the numbers that have been mentioned in the previous comments. Not to mention, I feel that the people who actually understand financial matters and care enough to look up these topics online, typically are the ones who are financially ahead of the majority of Americans who are head over heels in debt.
Kids be very careful of the whole college trap. Im so sick of still hearing people say ” GO TO COLLEGE AND YOU WILL MAKE BIG MONEY” ….I KNOW PLENTY OF COLLEGE GRADS MAKING 26,000 A YEAR AND HAVE 90K IN DEBT. Be careful…do research.
One can get a very good quality education at a community college and finish the other two years at a state university. The text books in the technical areas (Math, engineering, the sciences, and computer science) ARE USUALLY THE SAME as the text books at the Ivy league colleges. My income has been above the 6 figures yearly since 2001 and I’m a state university graduate.
I do recommend people to finish their masters degrees too because unfortunately a Bachelor degree these days is as common as a high school diploma was thirty years ago. You have to work harder to stand out and earn the big bucks. I recommend working on your MS degree while you are in your professional field after your BS degree.
By going to a state university, you save yourself from the enormous student debt and you gain wealth faster than the graduates of the snobby schools. A smart graduate would start a 401k and Roth IRA right away. The Ivy league graduates will be too burdened by debt to fund a 401k or IRA. You get a jump on them and will retire before them (with lots nice cars and a nice house).
I am a financial advisor and think these figures are well represented for the population as a whole…Many people spend as much or more than they make. They make poor choices by over-extending themselves through credit cards, O% financing deals for 12 months for store purchases, buying homes they cannot afford. This in turn precipitates into the low money syndrome where most people are short on cash.
I instruct my clients to do these (2) financial concepts you may not be aware of:
1) Save (10%) or more of your GROSS SALARY and treat it as your “first bill.” Repeat it every month until you retire.
2) If you do not have the cash to buy impulse items (which include big screen TV’s, stereo’s, expensive purses and shoes…) DO NOT BUY THEM!
Stop trying to impress the Jones’s next door unless they are fully funding your retirement and children’s education too. At the end, it is you who have to look at in the mirror when you retire.
It pains me to see the same thing happening over and over again…some families taking financial advise from their broke relatives perpetuated by the global media. Don’t get caught up with the sea of financially irresponsible souls!
Be Bold…Save your Money, & Let your retirement be GOLD!
-Dr. Mo’ Naye
FINANCIAL ANALYST and AUTHOR-AT-LARGE
*Dr. Mo’ Naye will be coming out with a book in Spring 2011…Look for it in the upcoming months.
I guess I’m not doing too badly, I am 43 and my net worth is almost 200k. (It was over 200k before the stock market went to the dumpster). Most of mine is in cash, but some in my house. I am the sole bread winner in my family. Income has been averaging 130′s the last 3 years or so. But 130k around where I live can buy you a nice new 5000 sqft home which in CA would cost well over 1 million dollars. Education does help (if you get the right degree). Although my parents did pay for my education, my net worth was the result of my hard work and no-one elses. My goal is 2 million by the time I retire..
Follow the principles set forth in the “Millionaire Next Door” starting early in your career and you will be just fine. Pay yourself first (save/invest); Live below your means; use debt only for things that generate a payback; forget about impressing others…they aren’t no matter where you live or what you drive; take please in the truly meaningful aspects of life — owning things isn’t that; and let time do its thing to you.
Over the hill, I agree with your advice. I am one of those prodigious accumulators of wealth. While I do use credit and it amounts to 0.29% of my net worth, I live well below my means. One should take indulgences though. Otherwise why save? I don’t have any beneficiaries. I’m also older than 50, so I’m going to slip into more and more indulgences in stages as long as my wealth keeps increasing year over year.
I am 19 and I have already saved 3k in my 401k. I have 1200 in my savings account, 400 in my checking and a paid off credit card with a 600 dollar limit. I have my college paid for through my work, I think I am definitely off to a great start.
Vince, I agree, you are off to a great start! Congratulations! I did not start investing until age 29. You will never regret starting investing in your teens. I regret NOT starting investing earlier than I did.
I am 52, married, with two kids left to put through college. I have a $650K mortgage on a house worth $550K. I have $390K in cash and $610K in retirement accounts, so basically I’ve got $1 million but zero home equity. According to the calculations I’ve done, my retirement life will consist of living in a trailer-park, eating pork & beans, shopping at Wal-Mart, praying I don’t don’t get sick, and hoping I don’t live past 70. It’s all very depessing. If those statistics are correct, I can’t even imagine how the “average” person in my age group will ever retire at all.
A million dollars net worth is great by the age of 52. Social security for you should be at least 2000 a month when you hit 62+. If you retire you just have to move outside the United States believe me 2000 a month social security plus a million dollars with interest at 4+% gives you a lifestyle like a King in Thailand and I’m sure all through south America and Central America as well. You and your wife would be grossing 65k a year in a foriegn country like thailand that would be equavilent to 260k a year in the USA your life would be anything that your heart desires living like royalty for sure.
So I have a million dollar net worth at age 52, and my retirement choices will be to either live on a rice-farm in Thailand, or a trailer-park in the US. Wow. And that’s assuming I can stay employed until age 67, and don’t incur any medical expenses other than an occasional box of aspirin.
Steve, perhaps you are being overly negative. If you have saved up a million dollars, with your peak earning years still ahead of you, that is great. I don’t know why you took on a 650k mortgage but that was your choice. If you sit on it for 15 years you should be able to sell it at a profit, or just pay it off (NO RENT). And $2000/month + 3% of wealth (30k/year) will buy you much more than pork ‘n beans.
Stop encouraging more farangs to go to Thailand Steven! Keep Asia a secret, 99% of Americans are oblivious to the incredible life they could live if they weren’t so Americanized.
Seems pretty low, i live in Canada, and i think the numbers are comparable, i think Canadians have a little less household debt, but both sets of numbers much lower than i’d imagined. I think it would be useful to slice and dice by where a person lives ie) based on city size. Perhaps 300K might be enough for a retiree in small town, but in New York or Toronto (where i’m from), that wouldn’t be enough. I’m 34 with a net worth about 275K (cdn$ close to par), my wife’s net worth is even higher. i’m projecting a minimum of 1M not including the home at retirement for both of us to live comfortably. 1.5M if i want to retire at 55. Boggles the mind how it’s possible to live on the numbers supplied above. to stretch that amount out is almost akin to poverty. Really puts things into perspective. I’m not counting on gov’t pension or corporate pension…anything i get out of that would be gravy. I’m counting on rental income which is already helping to add to my networth every month and what ever income my savings will generate. Not counting on anyone to support me…i think that’s the safest approach.
Very interesting, love the stats too. I thought the numbers would be a bit higher to be honest. But I guess net worth excludes primary home. So I think I am in the ballpark.
NB: Great site you have here!
Though I respectfully understand the tone of everyone’s concern, having a net worth and living in a free nation puts all of us so much further than you realize. I’m 48, graduated high school, and attended 3 years of study at a state college in New York. I have owned two retail businesses and have SAVED and INVESTED a net worth of 1.4 million dollars. I have a wife and two daughters with college bills ahead of me and a new business to start. I embrace the opportunity and the challenges ahead of me in these difficult times. I live within my means (have never owned a luxury car) and love each day that I get to spend on this beautiful earth. Money is important but it is not everything.
Best wishes to you all,
Bill
37 yo, started investing at age 30. Today I have $80k in IRAs, $50k in a Margin, no property. Doing the Millionaire Next Door thing, although I will treat myself to creature comforts from time to time. I find that not drinking alcohol saves me at least $3k/year after-tax. My only upset is that my extra-curricular entrepreneurial ambitions have borne little fruit. But, my income (both passive & earned) has steadily increased, as I’ve gained more and more financial confidence.
I’m 25 years old, net worth about $50k (25k in stocks, 10K in IRA, 15K in savings, $13 in my wallet). I’ve always been focused on saving and investing since I was 19 years old. How do I have 50K at 25? I’m cheap. I rarely buy ‘nice’ things and hate taking girls out on dates because I know I’ll have to pay. I spend lots of time planning budgets and goals on spreadsheets and reading websites like these.
While your living, disposable income is a better measure of wealth than net worth. How much you have to spend outside your basic needs is real wealth. You need to keep things such as a home and car. So even though they are in your net worth, they can’t normally be spent for recreation, clothes, food, entertainment, etc.
When you die or have a financial emergency then net worth assets such as a home, property, etc. become important. You, or your heirs, can turn it into disposable income producing assets or use it to pay off debt.
The numbers look pretty good and I fall within the range but unfortunately I live in southern California and I need to be making probably 20% more to be better off. The differences between living on a coast and in the middle of the country are huge when you consider things like rent or mortgages, insurance, and other cost of living items. The IRS doesn’t take these things into account at tax time any more and it really stings.
Learn to cook healthy food, don’t live in a McMansion, exercise regularly, don’t have a boatload of children, find cheap productive hobbies, use public transportation when possible, and most importantly make sure your spending doesn’t increase at the same rate your salary increases.
Go to college, don’t go to college… whatever floats your boat. As long as you are able to live frugally, it doesn’t really matter. Every reasonably intelligent person in this country who isn’t burdened with unavoidable debt and/or horrific bad luck should be able to retire before 40 if they want to, in a few cases, well before 40. You can find details at earlyretirementextreme dot com.
I started my career as a high school teacher in the Bay area (which has a relatively high cost of living) making less than 40k a year. My wife and I were able to save and invest 20k my first year of teaching, and as our salaries grew we kept out spending levels at roughly the same level. Now that we are both 32 we have saved a little more than 500k (we do not own a house and have no debt).
Barring a massive plunge in the stock market, we’ll be millionaires when we are 36 and can currently support ourselves solely with our investment income (just barely in this lousy market). We got a late start because we had to pay off college debt – if I had been smarter and had gone to community college first then transferred, we could have shaved a couple more years off of our retirement (or if you prefer, financial independence) date.
Please don’t measure yourself against those depressing median values. Hold yourself to a higher standard. Figure out what your freedom and time are worth, and go for it. I’m very lucky because I actually enjoy my career, but I would have been willing to suffer in a job I disliked for ten years to earn an extra 20, 30, maybe even 40 years of freedom.
Think about it. Thirty years. Do you really need to eat out every day? Do you really need to own all the latest high-end electronics and games? Do you really need to buy everything new? Do you really need to buy that book or movie at all? Do you really need to live in an enormous house full of new furniture with the AC/Heat on constantly and an endless lawn and a riding mower and cupboard full of prepackaged snacks? Maybe you do, but you’re paying decades of your life for the privilege.
Age 59, net worth $5.5 mill, no debt, and I would not be comfortable retiring at this time due to kids in college and taxes and insurance to pay. The bulk of my worth is in paid for real estate and mutual funds. The problem with retirement would be current income in my case so I guess I will just keep working.