Guestimator
How it scores, and its limits
Guestimator is for entertainment and self-reflection. It is not medical, psychological, financial or professional advice, and the score does not measure anyone's worth.
Method
Each category is scored from 0 to 100, then combined as a weighted average and shown out of 10.
- Height is compared with the mean adult height for your sex in your country. For men the score rises with height and levels off for the very tall. For women it peaks slightly above the national average.
- Weight uses body mass index. It is scored against the healthy band, with the lower Asian cut-offs where health bodies recommend them, not against the national average. Your position against the national average is shown for context. People who rate their strength highly get a softer penalty, because BMI misreads muscular builds.
- Income is placed against the median yearly personal income in your country, shifted for your age band. The score is roughly the share of adults your age you out-earn.
- Net worth is placed the same way against your country's median net worth per adult, shifted for your age band, since wealth builds over a working life. Zero or negative net worth lands in the bottom tenth.
- Debt counts what you owe outside a home mortgage, as a share of a year of your income. No debt scores 100. The score falls as the share rises, and regions where consumer credit is ordinary are given more room. A mortgage is left out here because it already shows up in net worth.
- Independence looks at where you live. Owning or renting your own place scores the same everywhere. Living with parents or family is scored against the age people in your country usually leave home, so it costs little at 27 in Italy and more at 27 in Sweden. In regions where several generations under one roof is ordinary, it never costs much.
- Everything else is self-reported on sliders and short choices.
The three money boxes are optional. A box left blank is left out of the score and the remaining categories carry the total.
Data
Country heights and BMI figures are rounded from published NCD-RisC and WHO national estimates. They are approximate reference points.
Median income figures are rounded from national statistics, OECD and World Bank data. Median net worth per adult is rounded from the UBS Global Wealth Report. All are in US dollars at market exchange rates, are not split by sex, and move with exchange rates, so treat them as approximate. The age adjustments and the regional debt standards are editorial.
Leaving-home ages for European countries are rounded from Eurostat. For other countries a regional estimate is used, and it is editorial.
Limits
- Self-ratings are biased. Two honest people can score the same life differently.
- The category weights by sex and region are editorial defaults, not measurements of what any culture values. Change them in "Adjust what matters".
- Money is entered in US dollars and compared with people in your own country, so the result says where you stand at home, not what your income would buy elsewhere.
- Character, emotional maturity and social skills are the hardest things to rate in yourself. Ask someone who knows you well and compare.
- Social status and family background describe how others tend to see you where you live. They say nothing about what you deserve.
- Debt is not all alike. A student loan or a business loan can be a sound bet, and the score cannot tell.
- BMI is a rough screen. It says nothing about body composition, and it is unreliable in pregnancy and for some medical conditions.
- Traits listed as masculine or feminine are conventional labels. Plenty of people score well on both lists.
If the number bothers you
Close the tab. If thoughts about your body, eating or self-worth are weighing on you, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional. In the US you can call or text 988 at any time.