Average Net Worth by Age (2026): Are You Ahead or Behind?

[00:01] on your age? This video is updated for 2026 and answers it all. Whether you're career or in your 40s and getting your retirement in your 60s, we have the data on those decades and everything in

[00:15] between. I'll also cover what your goals should be in order to set yourself up are. As always, I'm going to leave timestamps below in case you want to skip around to your section. But let's get started with the decade of the 20s.

[00:27] The median net worth in your 20s is $6,689 as of the most recent data from Empower and the average is over $127,000. Now, this is a huge disparity obviously because individuals with really high net

[00:41] That's why I think the median is a better metric to pay attention to because it represents the middle point of the distribution, giving you a clearer picture of where most people actually stand. Now, net worth is simply

[00:53] defined as the total value of everything that you own, your assets, and then liabilities. I personally track my net worth in a Google spreadsheet, and I here is a very basic net worth calculation. You can see here you have

[01:07] 10K in a checking account, 20K in a retirement account, but you owe $50,000 in student loan debt. Therefore, your net worth in this case would be -20,000. net worth. Now, in your 20s, you want to be able to target a median net worth by

[01:22] net worth that we should be striving for is $52,02. That's because by the time you are 30, Fidelity recommends that you save 1x your salary for retirement. Now, since

[01:35] your salary for retirement. Now, since the median income in America is $52,2 as of the age of 30, we should be aiming to have that much in our net worth by three ways and three goals to attain that in my opinion. Number one is to

[01:48] avoid any consumer debt. When I'm talking about consumer debt, I just mean any credit card debt, buy now pay later debt, or even personal loans. In order rest of your financial life, you need to avoid any consumer interest rate debt of

[02:01] over 10%. I think student loan debt is okay if the interest rate is low. You to pay that off in a reasonable amount of time. The second thing to focus on in your 20s is to target a savings rate of 15 or 20% if it's possible. The key to

[02:15] retiring on time and even earlier is just a high savings rate. So, if you're able to target a 15% savings rate of your income or more, you're going to be by the time you are 30. So, the power of compound returns in your 20s is so

[02:28] powerful. So, here's a small table of savings rates of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. Now, this assumes you make $60,000 a year. And as you can see, just by getting the average returns of the S&P 500 of 8%, by the time you're in your

[02:42] late 50s or early 60s, you will end up with at minimum a balance of $558,36. And that goes all the way up to $2.2 million. And all of these sums are worth of someone who's actually the age of 60, which is crazy to think about.

[02:58] increase your skills or have a plan to increase your income because I think your 20s are a really good time to experiment with a lot of jobs, hobbies, can take a class or certification to learn new skills to apply directly to

[03:12] I've seen people increase their salaries from 60K to 120K in a single year just by learning database management. Or similarly, you can think of ways to monetize certain expertise or advantages that you might have. So, for example, if

[03:26] you knew a lot about building muscle, working out, and creating workout you can monetize that skill. You could do one-on-one personal training with people, you could become an affiliate of fitness related products. You could

[03:38] offers free knowledge and then eventually sells a product of your own. run live events for fitness-minded people to get together and learn. My want to focus on how are you going to make more money eventually, or at least

[03:53] in your 30s. And that brings me to the decade of the 30s because the median net decade of the 30s because the median net worth here in your 30s is $24,58 worth here in your 30s is $24,58 and the average is $321,549.

[04:05] start to see that the averages get even more and more extreme. And that's because the really really wealthy people keep skewing the average up so high that the median net worth numbers. So, I think the median net worth here in your

[04:18] 30s of $24,000 is much more doable and probably not difficult for a lot of you guys watching this video. However, it's on this channel that my goal is to have you guys overshoot this goal by so much that you are comfortably ahead of the

[04:30] median statistics. The uncomfortable truth is that if you just stick with the median numbers, by the time you retire, you'll have about $290 to $300,000 as a really enough to have a comfortable retirement in my opinion. To make sure

[04:44] comfortable in our 30s, let's stick with Fidelity's rule of thumb for now. And end of your 30s, your recommended net worth should be 3x your salary. Based on United States at the end of your 30s is $61,970.

[05:01] Fidelity's rule of thumb is going to be $185,910. However, if you're making $100,000 per year by the time you turn 40, then I would say that goal should be $300,000, which is 3x your income. There are three

[05:15] big goals that I want you guys to focus on if you are in your 30s. Number one is to be debtree except your mortgage. The idea is that in your 30s, since you're in your prime earning years, this is the decade to really start ramping up your

[05:27] this age are credit card payments and other existing loans that are slowing the compounding of your wealth. We're still going to keep the mortgage because people are going to be realistically able to pay that off immediately. If you

[05:40] want to consider refinancing when the rates come down. And our goal of paying the later decades in life. Goal number two here is to keep your lifestyle decade where you start earning more money. And often times what creeps up is

[05:56] to spend more money. So don't do that. Just make sure you avoid lifestyle money for the later. Number three is to have a well stocked emergency fund. So in our 30s, you're going to have kids to take care of, a house, and possibly

[06:10] these new responsibilities could present emergency situations in which you need liquid cash. So what happens if your kid needs a unexpected surgery or your house water heater or on the flip side, you get an opportunity to invest in a

[06:25] business venture that requires you to have some cash. Because of this, you emergency fund. So, if you're on the conservative side, like me, I like to expenses saved up. But the general

[06:38] have at least 3 to 6 months of expenses saved up in a high yield account. And if you're already there, then that's great. Now, before we get into our 40s, I want 2minute money quiz that helps you figure out where you stand financially. You

[06:51] just basically go to usehelm.com. You enter some basic info about yourself and then you'll get a financial wellness score with some actionable tips and the website I created with a friend of mine. The data is kept private and I hope that

[07:03] down below. All right, getting into our 40s now. The median net worth in your 40s is $76,479 and the average I will put it up on the less relevant now. To make sure that we're on track for being comfortable by

[07:18] the time we retire, Fidelity recommends that you save 6x your salary by the time you hit your 50th birthday. The median income in the US at the end of your 40s is $65,000. So the recommended net worth based on Fidelity's metrics is going to

[07:31] be 390,000. However, once again, you should just take your income. So if you're making 100K per year by the time you're 50, dial that goal up to $600,000, which is 6x your income. The 40s are definitely going to be the most

[07:43] varied decade among everybody watching. And that's because I feel like at the different going on. You either have a family with kids and they're preparing for college. You could be single and living that Leo DiCaprio life, or you

[07:56] another country to start brand new again. So, with that being said, I think there are three big goals in this decade of the 40s that hopefully everyone can big expenses accounted for. That could mean paying off your house, saving for a

[08:10] prioritizing your retirement. You want to figure out your top one, two, or three priorities money-wise, and have them accounted for in your budget. So, if you determine that paying off your mortgage by the time you are 50 is a top

[08:22] math on what that might look like. Does that mean you have to make an extra mortgage payment every single year, or does that mean you can refinance when to bring in more income or reduce your

[08:34] towards your mortgage? Having a plan for your top money priority is going to be one of the biggest goals that you can do in your 40s. The second goal is to have your retirement number in mind. So, I've made so many videos on this channel on

[08:46] how to calculate your exact retirement number. I will leave that video down for idea is that you want to know what withdrawal rate you're going to be to figure out where your nest egg should be by the time you retire. And goal

[08:59] estate plan. Especially if you have dependent that rely on you and you have think you should really have one of these. The major components of an estate plan are a living will as well as a healthcare or power of attorney. And

[09:13] your preferences in case something were to happen to you. They aren't as bad to find templates online and then you can you can get it notorized or you can just go to a trust attorney if you prefer

[09:27] have an estate plan yet, but that's because I don't have a family or any dependent. However, if I were to get married tomorrow and I had some kids, do first thing. And this should definitely be on your mind in the decade

[09:40] 50s now. This is the big leagues, guys. So, the median net worth in your 50s is $192,964 as of the latest data. The average now is over a million. And to make sure that we're on track for being comfortable by

[09:54] the time we retire, Fidelity recommends you save 8x your salary by the time you hit age 60. Now, I would say that this 8x your salary rule is very important at you're in the decade of the 50s, you have retirement in less than 15 years.

[10:09] So, when Fidelity recommends 8x, I think that is at minimum what you should be doing, but maybe closer to 10 or 12x if you can. The median income in the United States at the end of your 50s, so at the age of 60, is $62,01.

[10:23] So the recommended net worth based on Fidelity's metrics is going to be $496,8 by the time you hit age 60. Again, on this channel, if you are making more, so let's say you make $100,000 a year, I'd rather see you at $800,000 and upwards

[10:37] of 1.2 million if you can. The 50s are also a very polarizing decade, and you might be an empty neester, finally traveling the world with your spouse. grandkids while still working a full-time job. Or maybe you've started a

[10:52] 20 years, and finally, you are going allin on yourself. With that being said, I think there are three big goals in the decade of the 50s. Goal number one, diversify your investments and shift your asset allocation. A good portfolio

[11:05] shifting your asset allocation more towards fixed income and bonds or idea is that in your 50s, capital preservation is becoming much more of a retiring pretty soon. I think at this

[11:20] estate, other businesses, or any other cash flowing assets that you can get figure out how much you actually want to spend in retirement. If you can figure lifestyle to cost one day when you retire, you can easily back into the

[11:35] you're aiming for. Once you have that number, I think that sets up a really good north star for the next decade or two of your work to make sure that you Also, depending on when you take social security, your retirement can vary quite

[11:49] a bit. So, if you want further watching after this video, check out my video where I go into different sizes of nest eggs and if they're enough for a comfortable retirement, I will link that below as well. Now, goal number three in

[12:01] retirement accounts, including catch-up contributions. In 2026, the 401k contribution limit is $32,500 per year for people over the age of 50. Compare that to under the age of 50, where the normal limit is $24,500. That's an extra

[12:17] $8,000 you can catch up with. And the IRA contribution is very similar. It's8,600 per year when compared to the regular 7,500 per year. So take your nest eggs before the decade of the 60s, which is what we're going to get

[12:31] into right now. The median net worth in your 60s is $290,920. And the average I will put up on the screen, but it's around $1.576 million. being comfortable by the time we retire,

[12:44] Fidelity recommends you have 10x your salary saved by the time you hit age 65, retirement age. The median income in the US at the end of your 60s is now $63,455.

[12:56] So based on Fidelity's metrics, we want to have $634,550 saved by the time we are 70. Personally, I would like to see 20x your income what Fidelity suggests, so don't get too scared, but I think you can do it if

[13:11] you're diligent about your finances throughout your life. Having 20x your hit your nest egg amount, and that's just plain math. Most withdrawal rate rules are between 4 to 4.7%. This usually means you're going to have about

[13:24] 20 to 25x your annual expenses saved up in a nest egg. But most retirees end up spending way less in retirement because their major expenses disappear. They mortgage. the kids are financially independent and they're no longer

[13:37] income. In some cases, they've downsized their lifestyle as well to match their appearances. All right, so I think that the main goals at the age of 60 are the retirement. There's no more guessing about how much you'll need. You should

[13:52] close you are to getting there, and have a really solid understanding of your financials. Ideally, at the age of 65 or 67 years old, you're retiring, you're taking social security, and you can enjoy the rest of your life stress-free.

[14:05] Goal number two, focus on capital preservation. Once you're retired, it's long as it can. And lastly, goal number three is to have your house completely self-explanatory, but I feel like if you bought your house in your 30s, your

[14:19] 30-year mortgage should finally be finishing up if it's not already paid the entire video. So, let me know how much you have in net worth in the want that money quiz, I will leave it linked down below. If you want to watch

[14:33] your retirement number, I will leave it up here on the screen. So, check that being here for another video. I really enjoy these and I'll see you guys in the next one. All right. Peace.