Here's the Average American's Net Worth at Every Income Level. How Does Yours Compare?

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Calculating your net worth is a great way to see where your finances stand. Your net worth is calculated using a simple equation: You add up the value of all of your assets -- things like your house, car, and the money in your bank account . Next, you add up all your liabilities or financial obligations like credit card debt and mortgage loans. Then, subtract the liabilities total from your assets total. The amount left over is your net worth.

Once you've calculated your net worth, though, what do you do with that number exactly? One thing you can do is compare it to the net worth of other people to see how you're doing in your wealth-building efforts.

It can be interesting to see how people with similar incomes to yours compare since income can affect your ability to build wealth. Let's take a closer look at the data.

Americans' wealth at different income levels

The table below shows the net worth of Americans at every income level based on data from the Federal Reserve .

Remember, as the table shows, how much you make is not the same thing as your wealth.

Indeed, the data shows that people with higher incomes have a higher median and mean net worth. They likely have more resources to devote to growing their net worth, as well as more resources to devote to paying down liabilities.

Having a high income doesn't always translate to a high net worth though, as it depends on what you're doing with your income.

Is it helpful to compare your net worth to your peers?

It's interesting to see where you stand compared to your fellow Americans at different income levels, but is it really useful to know how your own wealth stacks up?

Surprisingly, it can be helpful, because if you have a far lower net worth than other people within your income range, it may suggest you aren't using your money as wisely as you could be.

To be fair, your income may have increased recently, so you may not have had time to grow your net worth. Or, you may have had to go into a lot of debt to increase your income to your current level -- in which case your net worth may be lower than average.

Still, unless there's a good explanation, if your net worth is much lower than other people in your income range, it could suggest you're spending too much of your income on things that won't help you in the long run. After all, if other people with a similar amount of income have managed to acquire more valuable assets or pay down more credit cards and other debts than you, it's worth asking yourself why.

If you haven't prioritized debt payoff or you're buying a lot of stuff that won't ultimately grow your wealth over time at the expense of investing, then seeing how much you fall short could motivate you to start working on using your income to build more wealth.

How to boost your net worth

The good news is that it doesn't have to be hard to boost your net worth. If you're in debt, you can make a payoff plan, adjusting your budget to cut out some little luxuries until you've made your debt disappear.

If you don't owe a lot, then consider prioritizing investments with proven track records, like S&P 500 index funds. Make some changes to your budget to avoid spending too much on things that depreciate (or go down in value).

If you do that consistently over time, you could end up with a net worth that equals or exceeds others in your income level. You'll be able to thoroughly enjoy the financial security that a high net worth brings.

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