Money / Saving Money
How To Calculate Your Net Worth, Including Crypto
To calculate your net worth, add up the current value of everything you own and subtract everything you owe. The result, assets minus liabilities, is your net worth, and tracking it every month or quarter shows whether you're building wealth.
| Example: Assets | Value | Example: Liabilities | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checking and savings | $12,000 | Mortgage | $210,000 |
| 401(k) and IRA | $68,000 | Car loan | $14,000 |
| Taxable brokerage | $9,000 | Student loans | $22,000 |
| Crypto (Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins) | $6,500 | Credit card balance | $3,500 |
| Home (estimated market value) | $320,000 | ||
| Car (private-party value) | $18,000 | ||
| Total Assets | $433,500 | Total Liabilities | $249,500 |
| Net Worth | $184,000 |
Source: Cult of Money example.
Quick Take
- The median US family had a net worth of $215,900 in 2025, and the median for families headed by someone under 35 was $33,000, according to the Federal Reserve.
- Count crypto at its current market value, but don't count coins you can't access, and remember that selling at a gain will trigger tax.
- Net worth is a progress measure, not a scorecard. The trend over time matters more than any single number.
Step 1: List Everything You Own
Start with a spreadsheet, an app or a sheet of paper. Under assets, list the current value of:
- Cash: checking, savings, money market accounts and CDs.
- Retirement accounts: 401(k), 403(b), IRAs, pensions with a cash value, and the equivalents outside the US such as a UK pension or a Canadian RRSP.
- Investments: brokerage accounts, ETFs, stocks and bonds.
- Crypto: coins and tokens on exchanges and in your own wallets, at today's price.
- Real estate: your home and any other property, at an estimated sale price.
- Vehicles: what the car would sell for today, using a pricing tool such as Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds.
- Other valuables: only items you could realistically sell, such as jewelry or collectibles, at a conservative value.
Leave out everyday belongings such as furniture and clothes. They rarely sell for anything close to what you paid.
Save This Article
Email this article to yourself
We'll send you a link to "How To Calculate Your Net Worth, Including Crypto" so you can read it later, plus The Weekly Ritual, our free newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime.
Step 2: List Everything You Owe
Under liabilities, list the current balance of every debt: mortgage, home equity loan, car loans, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, buy now, pay later plans, medical debt, and any loans against your crypto or retirement accounts.
Step 3: Subtract
Subtract total liabilities from total assets. A negative number is common early in a career, especially with student loans, and it isn't a sign of failure. It's a starting point.
How To Count Crypto In Your Net Worth
Crypto belongs in your net worth, but it's the asset most likely to throw your number off. Five rules keep the count honest:
- Use the current market price. Value each coin at today's price, not what you paid. Our Bitcoin price page and Ethereum price page show live prices.
- Count stablecoins as cash-like, not as cash. USDC and other dollar stablecoins track the dollar, but they aren't covered by FDIC insurance.
- Leave out anything you can't access. Coins on a bankrupt exchange or in a wallet whose seed phrase is lost don't count until you get them back.
- Subtract crypto loans. If you borrowed against your coins, list the loan as a liability.
- Consider the tax. If your coins are worth much more than you paid, selling them triggers capital gains tax in most countries. Some people track an after-tax net worth by subtracting the estimated tax. Our page on crypto tax rates shows US rates.
The Federal Reserve itself counts crypto in household wealth. Its 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances includes cryptocurrency under "other financial assets."
Because crypto prices swing more than stocks, your net worth can jump or drop by thousands of dollars in a week if crypto is a large share. That's normal. Look at the trend over a year, not a week.
How Your Net Worth Compares
The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, released in October 2026, gives the most reliable US benchmarks. Medians are the middle family in each group:
| Age Of Head Of Family | Median Net Worth, 2025 | Mean Net Worth, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $33,000 | $135,400 |
| 35 to 44 | $155,600 | $681,900 |
| 45 to 54 | $253,700 | $1,244,500 |
| 55 to 64 | $411,900 | $1,878,000 |
| 65 to 74 | $431,300 | $1,897,600 |
| 75 and older | $504,900 | $1,962,200 |
| All Families | $215,900 | $1,241,500 |
Source: Federal Reserve, 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances. Cult of Money.
The median is the better comparison. The mean is pulled up by the wealthiest families. Homeowners had a median net worth of $458,900 and renters $10,600, according to the same Fed report, which shows how much of a typical family's wealth sits in a home. The Fed's announcement of the results summarizes the main changes since 2022.
Tools That Track Net Worth For You
Apps can link your accounts and update your net worth automatically:
- Kubera: a paid net worth tracker that connects to banks, brokerages, crypto exchanges and wallets, and handles assets in many currencies.
- Empower Personal Dashboard: a free dashboard for bank, retirement and investment accounts. Our portfolio tracker rankings below explain how it handles crypto.
- Monarch: a budgeting app with a net worth view and a Coinbase connection.
For a full comparison, see our rankings of the best portfolio trackers for crypto and stocks and the best budgeting tools. No tracker needs your seed phrase. Wallet tracking uses your public address.
How To Raise Your Net Worth
Pay down debt. Every dollar of debt you repay raises your net worth by a dollar. Start with high-interest credit cards, then decide whether to pay off lower-rate debt early or invest.
Save more. More cash means more assets. Our page on how Alexa saved a $10,000 emergency fund on a low income shows how it's done.
Invest consistently. Contributing to retirement accounts first, then a taxable account, lets compound growth do the work. The 2026 limits are $24,500 for a 401(k) and $7,500 for an IRA, according to the IRS.
Earn more, and keep the difference. A raise only helps your net worth if the extra money goes to savings or debt, not to a bigger lifestyle. Read how to avoid lifestyle inflation.
Expect swings. Market moves, in stocks or crypto, will push your number up and down month to month. You can't control them, so focus on what you can: saving and paying down debt.
What To Watch Out For
- Overvaluing your home or car. Use realistic sale prices, and remember selling costs.
- Counting inaccessible crypto. Lost keys and frozen exchange accounts aren't assets you can use.
- Ignoring taxes. A large unrealized gain in a taxable account or in crypto isn't all yours after tax.
- Comparing yourself to others. Your own trend is the number that matters.
- High net worth, low cash. A big number tied up in a house or volatile assets can still leave you unable to pay a surprise bill.
Update
Alexa wrote this in 2016 and called calculating your net worth a fun exercise, with a plan to update it every month. That's still the right habit. The Cult of Money editors replaced an old net worth link with the Federal Reserve's 2025 survey data, added a section on counting crypto, and listed tools that update your number automatically.
FAQ
What Is Net Worth?
Net worth is the value of everything you own minus everything you owe. It measures how much wealth you've built at a point in time.
What Is A Good Net Worth By Age?
In the US, the 2025 median net worth was $33,000 for families headed by someone under 35, $155,600 for ages 35 to 44 and $253,700 for ages 45 to 54, according to the Federal Reserve. Your own trend over time is the more useful measure.
Should I Include Crypto In My Net Worth?
Yes. Count crypto at its current market value, subtract any loans against it, and leave out coins you can't access. Because crypto is volatile, your net worth will move more if it's a large share of your assets.
Should I Include My Home In My Net Worth?
Yes, at a realistic sale price, with the mortgage listed as a liability. Some people also track a second number without the home, since you can't easily spend home equity.
How Often Should I Calculate My Net Worth?
Monthly or quarterly is enough. More often than that, market swings in stocks and crypto can make the number feel more volatile than your real progress.