# How's Your Net Worth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674 "2015-07-09T17:51:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/41 "2015-07-11T18:19:14Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > These numbers seem low to me. There has to be major regional fluctuation as most middle age home owners in my region will qualify for the 70% between home value & 401ks. Figure home value as approx sale value - remaining mortgage. Then add 401k and other savings and investments and the $228,708 is fairly low. But salaries, home prices and cost of living are all very high in this region so that drives up the figures. You have to remember there are a lot of people, even middle aged and older, who rent and essentially live paycheck to paycheck. A lot of people’s highest aspiration is to do just a little bit better than that - not fly into complete shock any time an unexpected expense crops up, but with no hopes of acquiring even emergency savings of several month’s expenses, let alone start a retirement nest egg. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/42 "2015-07-11T18:40:21Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > According to [this calculator,](http://www.shnugi.com/networth-percentile-calculator/) […] This puts me in the 92nd percentile for people of my exact age (meaning the same integer number of years as the start and end of the bracket). I’m several times the 70th percentile for 66-64, or 65+ for that matter. Yet, oddly, investment planners still say I should increase my savings rate (currently 20%). I wonder, do they always say that? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/43 "2015-07-11T18:41:54Z")
35-44, 70th percentile. Just being vested in a pension pretty much puts me above the mark. I’m the only person I know outside of work who will get a pension! ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/44 "2015-07-11T18:52:35Z")
I’m 45 and my biggest asset is my smile. Oh and this seven year old PC. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/45 "2015-07-11T19:03:42Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > This puts me in the 92nd percentile for people of my exact age (meaning the same integer number of years as the start and end of the bracket). > > I’m several times the 70th percentile for 66-64, or 65+ for that matter. > > Yet, oddly, investment planners still say I should increase my savings rate (currently 20%). I wonder, do they always say that? Of course, that’s how they make their money! I’d like to know a little more detail about how various retirement savings calculators work. My own bank, for example, seems to be running some sort of monte carlo simulation. Input your desired income at retirement, and it figures out the savings rate that nearly guarantees (95%? Higher?) you will be able to maintain that income. Since it seems to be drawing random samples of historical market returns, that includes a fair proportion of scenarios where a hypothetical retirement fund suffers from a market crash before or during retirement. Or, you can input your savings rate and investment options, and it will provide a probability of obtaining that desired income. In which case an answer of “you have a 30% chance of reaching your goals” seems like pretty dire circumstances. However, I bet if you saw the distribution of outcomes, it wouldn’t be so terrible: 50% chance of getting at least 0.9 \* target retirement income I, 70% chance of getting \> 0.8 \* I, 95% chance of \> 0.7 \* I, 99% chance of getting \> 0.6 \* I, etc. “Not meeting your retirement goals”, if your goals are a high income, means that you just have to adjust your budget a bit. One cruise every 9 months instead of the every 6 that you were hoping for is a far cry from dumpster diving for expired canned food… Not to mention that anyone with a 10-20% savings rate is probably doing well in many other ways, e.g. by retirement they’ll have a well maintained house with no mortgage which reduces their cost of living quite a bit. TL;DR: it seems like retirement planners are selling absolute certainty of comfort in retirement, using many conservative assumptions. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/46 "2015-07-11T19:39:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The numbers seem low because so many Americans are effectively broke. Or worse. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/47 "2015-07-11T20:31:06Z")
I suspect this poll is subject to selection bias - a) This a fairly well educated board membership and net worth likely increases with education level to some degree. b) I suspect the higher net worth individuals are more likely to click thread this than the lower net worth ones. I won’t publicly share my net worth percentile but I will state it is dropping substantially as I keep paying for my kids’ educations! Of course it what we have saved and invested _for_. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/48 "2015-07-11T20:41:30Z")
70th percentile is a bit low of a threshold. Just being on the internet and being able to put a couple of words together, and having some interest in current events puts you into 70th percentile of the population, so no wonder that translates to income as well. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/49 "2015-07-11T20:43:17Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I suspect this poll is subject to selection bias - > > a) This a fairly well educated board membership and net worth likely increases with education level to some degree. > b) I suspect the higher net worth individuals are more likely to click thread this than the lower net worth ones. > > I won’t publicly share my net worth percentile but I will state it is dropping substantially as I keep paying for my kids’ educations! Of course it what we have saved and invested _for_. Definitely, there’s got to be enormous selection bias here. Wrapped up in b), there’s: i) high net worth individuals are more likely to know their net worth ii) people who bother to figure out their net worth are more likely to care about increasing it iii) low net worth aren’t eager to announce how broke they are ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/50 "2015-07-11T21:04:01Z")
I’m 43, but my net worth is higher than 50th, lower than 70th. Most of that is in 401k and the like. If you add my wife in there (we’re in CA -community property state) we still hit 50th (barely) due to the additional student loan debt. I do have majority ownership and control of a company with another $60k in assets, but I’m not sure whether that counts or how. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/51 "2015-07-11T22:24:55Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > You have to remember there are a lot of people, even middle aged and older, who rent and essentially live paycheck to paycheck. A lot of people’s highest aspiration is to do just a little bit better than that - not fly into complete shock any time an unexpected expense crops up, but with no hopes of acquiring even emergency savings of several month’s expenses, let alone start a retirement nest egg. I know all that but in New Jersey at least (well also Connecticut which is part of the NYC metro region) the home ownership rate is [Home ownership rate](http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html), 2009-2013 65.6% and overall for the US it is 64.9%. Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2009-2013 \*\*NJ \*\*$327,100 \*\*USA \*\*$176,700. Thus my statement above about regional differences. In NJ it would probably be a majority of middle age people above the 70% level. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/52 "2015-07-11T22:32:09Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Definitely, there’s got to be enormous selection bias here. Wrapped up in b), there’s: > i) high net worth individuals are more likely to know their net worth > ii) people who bother to figure out their net worth are more likely to care about increasing it > iii) low net worth aren’t eager to announce how broke they are Hear, hear. Plus a) Dopers seem to be wealthier than your average bear. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/53 "2015-07-12T00:06:02Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Yep. Me too. Easily. And house will paid off in 10 months. The numbers seem real low, because I still plan on having to work into my mid 60’s. Indeed. I’d be scared shitless if I was right at the numbers for 70th percentile. That is nowhere near enough to be at for economic security later in life. Maybe in Arkansas, but not i California! ---
**Author:** ![dgrdfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@dgrdfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dgrdfd)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/54 "2015-07-12T13:11:42Z")
90 Percentile Net Worth Age 30: 188k Age 31: 266k Guess many are getting inheritances… ---
**Author:** ![dgrdfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@dgrdfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dgrdfd)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/55 "2015-07-12T13:22:36Z")
Oh and then it drops to 226k at age 32. I would expect a natural net worth increase of some percent per year. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/56 "2015-07-12T13:34:31Z")
It’s not a huge dataset, so there’s a fair amount of plain old random variation. It’s based on survey data with 6015 samples. There are only 81 samples in the 30yo group, 81 in the 31yo, and 97 samples in the 32yo group. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/57 "2015-07-12T19:08:29Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > How’s your net worth ranked by age and percentile? The 30th percentile means that if you have exactly this net worth, it is greater than 30% of households your age. The same is true for the 50th and 70th percentiles. Net worth is your total assets minus total liabilities. > > Age Percentile: 30th 50th 70th > > \<35 $0 $6682 $33477 > > 35-44 $4058 $35000 $128430 > > 45-54 $12175 $84542 $228708 > > 55-64 $39057 $144200 $333750 > > 65+ $68783 $171135 $344870 > > source: The Motley Fool Those $ numbers seem terribly low, at least for the United States. Is there some qualifier that should be there? Or is The Motley Fool doing something funny with numbers (given the history of TMF, this seems likely…). ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/58 "2015-07-13T16:10:10Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > That calculator seems to based unrealistic data for the 20-30 year old group: > > 10% -$20,600 > 25% -$1,480 > 50% $8,300 > 75% $32,000 > 90% $100,050 > > I’m really struggling to figure out how 10% of my age group have managed to get a $100,000 net worth. Now, that’s certainly not completely out of reach for those who had minimal student loan debt, got high paying job right out of college, starting saving for retirement right away, and now have a decent bit of equity in a home. Some of my friends who are engineers and programmers conceivably are doing this well (though I don’t know the details of their finances). > > However I can’t imagine even 10% of this age group being that successful. I can’t quite square that with what I know about high rates of unemployment, underemployment, still living with parents, and low homeowner rates. I suspect there is a large disconnect between “households” and “individuals” in this population. I see the data age is more specifically for the “head of household”. Maybe it’s just excluding a large proportion of 20-30 year old individuals who are members of a household with an older “head of household”. E.g. college students (even living away from home), anyone living with their parents, anyone with an older and more successful spouse. Possibly even excluding anyone living as a financially-independent roommate? Then there’s the fact that a large proportion of successful individuals are marrying each other. > > Anyways, that’s a long winded response of saying that I’m in my late 20s, in the 50-70% range according to the OP’s grouping, but I thought I would have been somewhat better than that… You are assuming everyone earns all the money they have in a self-sufficient manner. Have a wealthy parent pay for a university education, and gift their kid with a “starter” condo (or even a significant down-payment), and a 20-30 year old could easily have over 100K. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/59 "2015-07-13T16:17:09Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > You are assuming everyone earns all the money they have in a self-sufficient manner. > > Have a wealthy parent pay for a university education, and gift their kid with a “starter” condo (or even a significant down-payment), and a 20-30 year old could easily have over 100K. Oh, certainly. Having accumulated my student loans at one of those tiny liberal arts colleges that is featured in the “ZOMG MOST EXPENSIVE TUITION EVER!” news articles, I’m quite aware of the trust fund crowd. There’s no way that they make up 10% of the total age group, however. There still has to be some sort of disconnect between “individuals” and “households” that selects for the relatively affluent. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674/60 "2015-07-13T16:23:15Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Oh, certainly. Having accumulated my student loans at one of those tiny liberal arts colleges that is featured in the “ZOMG MOST EXPENSIVE TUITION EVER!” news articles, I’m quite aware of the trust fund crowd. There’s no way that they make up 10% of the total age group, however. There still has to be some sort of disconnect between “individuals” and “households” that selects for the relatively affluent. I dunno. If you add the trust fund kids to those specifically pursuing a career in a highly paid profession or in business, it is possible that _both groups together_ create enough who have over $100K in the 20-30 age range. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-net-worth/724674.md?page=4)