What Is Considered High Net Worth? Tiers and Thresholds

Ask most financial professionals what counts as high net worth and you will hear the same number: $1 million. The catch is what that million is made of. A $1 million house and a $1 million brokerage account put you in very different categories, and the difference decides which investments you can buy, which advisors will take you on, and how much financial planning your money needs.

The Short Answer

In the wealth management industry, a high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is someone with at least $1 million in investable assets. That figure leaves out your primary home, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables like cars. It is the definition used in Capgemini's World Wealth Report, the benchmark most private banks and wealth managers cite.

By that measure, the U.S. had 8.7 million high-net-worth individuals in 2025, more than any other country. The bar keeps rising from there. Around $5 million is usually called very high net worth, and $30 million or more is ultra-high net worth.

The Different Wealth Tiers

Banks and wealth managers sort clients into tiers based on investable assets. The exact cutoffs vary by firm, but most use something close to this:

These lines are just industry conventions and are constantly shifting. Some banks don't start ultra-high net worth until $50 million, and the mass affluent range shifts from firm to firm. What the tiers really control is the service you get: account minimums, pricing, access to private investments and whether you have a dedicated financial advisor.

The pyramid gets narrow fast. In Capgemini's count, the large majority of high-net-worth individuals sit in the bottom band, between $1 million and $5 million. Only about 250,000 people worldwide reached the ultra-high-net-worth level in 2025, and the top 1% of HNWIs held 34.8% of all HNWI wealth.

Net worth vs. Investable Assets: why your house doesn't count

Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. Investable assets are the part of that you could actually put to work in a portfolio. The industry defines high net worth by the second number, because a wealth manager can't invest your kitchen.

Take two households that are each worth $2 million. The first owns a $1.4 million home with a $200,000 mortgage and has $800,000 in retirement and brokerage accounts. The second rents and has $2 million in a brokerage account. On paper they're equally wealthy. By the industry's definition, only the second one is high net worth.

This gap is why two respected reports can disagree so sharply. UBS, which counts net worth including homes, estimates that 23.6 million Americans are millionaires. Capgemini, which counts only investable assets, finds 8.7 million. Both are right. They're just measuring different things.

Two gray areas are worth knowing. Retirement accounts almost always count, even though taxes and withdrawal rules limit how you can use them. Business stakes and private funds are counted by some firms and ignored by others, since you usually can't sell them quickly. Our guide to net worth vs. liquid net worth vs. investable assets goes deeper on when each number matters.

Accredited investor vs. Qualified Client vs. Qualified Purchaser

"High net worth" isn't a legal term, but the SEC does draw lines that decide which private investments you're allowed to buy. These are the ones that matter most for individuals:

The qualified client figures took effect on June 29, 2026, when the SEC raised them from $1.1 million and $2.2 million as part of its routine inflation adjustment. The accredited investor numbers have never been adjusted. They date back to 1982, and the $1 million net worth test would already have been about $2.6 million by 2022 if it had kept pace with inflation. Holders of certain securities licenses, such as the Series 7, 65 or 82, also qualify as accredited investors regardless of wealth.

Notice that the SEC uses net worth, not investable assets. A household with a $3 million home and $900,000 in investments isn't accredited, because the home is excluded and $900,000 falls short.

How many people are high net worth?

It depends on which definition you use, which is exactly why the headlines never seem to agree.

The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances offers a third angle, based on household net worth. Analyses of the survey data put the median U.S. household at about $216,000. The top 10% of households starts at roughly $2.5 million, and the top 1% at roughly $16.3 million. About one in five American families has a net worth of $1 million or more once home equity and retirement accounts are included.

Is $1 million still considered high net worth?

Technically, yes. Every major industry and regulatory definition still starts at $1 million. In practice, $1 million doesn't stretch the way it used to, and whether it feels like a lot depends on three things.

• Inflation. The $1 million benchmark has been around for decades. The SEC set its accredited investor test at $1 million in 1982 and never raised it, so a dollar threshold that once marked real wealth now captures far more households.
• What it can pay for. A common rule of thumb says you can withdraw about 4% of a portfolio in the first year of retirement and adjust for inflation after that. On $1 million, that's roughly $40,000 a year before taxes, plus Social Security. That's a comfortable supplement for many retirees, but it isn't a lavish lifestyle. Our guide to safe withdrawal rates explains why that 4% figure deserves some skepticism.
• Your age. The same number means very different things at different stages of life. According to analyses of the Fed's 2025 survey, the top 10% of households headed by someone aged 35 to 44 starts at about $1.2 million in net worth. For households aged 65 to 74, the top 10% doesn't start until about $3.7 million. A million dollars at 38 puts you well ahead of your peers. At 68, it's a solid result but still well short of the top 10%.

So $1 million still opens the door to the high-net-worth world. It just doesn't take you very far inside.

What changes once you cross the line

The biggest change that comes with high net worth isn't the number on your balance sheet. It's how much more complicated your finances get. Once you pass $1 million, the simple tools and habits that helped you build wealth usually aren't enough to manage it.

• Your money spreads out. Accounts end up at several banks and brokerages, alongside a rental property, a 401(k) from an old job, equity in a private company or an interest in a fund. Some of it may sit in a trust or an LLC, which makes tracking wealth across entities its own job.
• Taxes matter more than returns. Capital gains, where you hold each investment and the 3.8% net investment income tax on higher earners can cost you more than a bad year in the market.
• Concentration creeps in. A single stock, a business or a property can quietly become a dangerous share of everything you own. Our guide to portfolio concentration risk shows how to spot it.
• Estate planning becomes urgent. Wills, trusts and beneficiary designations decide where the money goes, and mistakes get more expensive as the numbers grow.
• Advice gets pricier. Many wealth managers charge around 1% of assets a year, which is $20,000 annually on a $2 million portfolio. At higher levels, some families build a personal family office instead.

This is the situation Silvia was built for. Its users have an average net worth of about $2.5 million, which is right around where the top 10% of U.S. households begins. Silvia connects your bank, brokerage and retirement accounts, then lets you add real estate, private investments, crypto and the debts against them, so you can see your net worth and your investable assets side by side. From there you can ask how a property sale would affect your taxes, set alerts for concentration or big price moves and get answers based on your own numbers instead of generic rules of thumb.

More: Best Personal CFO Software

How to figure out where you stand

1. List everything you own. Include bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, your home, other real estate, business interests, private investments, crypto and valuable personal property. Our list of assets to include in your net worth can help you catch the ones people forget.
2. Subtract everything you owe. Mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit card balances, margin loans and any personal guarantees all count. It's easy to miss a few, so check our list of liabilities people commonly forget.
3. Pull out your investable assets. Remove your primary home, cars, collectibles and other personal property. What's left is the number wealth managers care about.
4. Compare both numbers to the tiers. Use investable assets for the industry tiers and net worth, minus your home, for the SEC tests.
5. Keep it current. Markets, property values and private valuations move constantly, so a number from last year can put you in the wrong tier today. A step-by-step net worth calculation is worth repeating at least once a quarter.

Frequently asked questions

Is a $1 million net worth considered high net worth?

It depends on what the million is made of. If you have $1 million in investable assets, such as brokerage and retirement accounts, you meet the industry definition. If most of your net worth is equity in your home, you don't.

Does home equity count toward high net worth?

Not under the industry definition or the SEC's accredited investor test, which both exclude your primary residence. Home equity does count toward your total net worth, which is why net-worth-based surveys report many more millionaires.

What is considered very high net worth?

Very high net worth usually means $5 million to $30 million in investable assets. Capgemini calls this group "mid-tier millionaires."

What is considered ultra-high net worth?

Ultra-high net worth generally starts at $30 million in investable assets, although some banks set the line at $50 million.

What percentage of Americans are high net worth?

Capgemini counts 8.7 million high-net-worth individuals in the U.S., which works out to roughly 3% of adults by our math. Using total net worth including home equity, about one in five American families has $1 million or more.

Is high net worth based on income?

No. High net worth is based on assets, not income. A high earner who spends everything isn't high net worth. The only place income comes into play is the SEC's accredited investor test, which you can meet with income over $200,000, or $300,000 jointly.

The Bottom Line

High net worth starts at $1 million in investable assets, not counting your home. Very high net worth begins around $5 million and ultra-high net worth around $30 million. The SEC uses its own net-worth tests to decide who can invest in private deals.

Whichever tier you're in, the hard part isn't the label. It's keeping an accurate picture of everything you own as it grows more complicated, and making good decisions with it. That's what Silvia is for, and you can start for free.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Thresholds and figures can change, so confirm current rules with the SEC or a qualified professional before making investment decisions.