In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has left people with more questions than ever, while opening up the discussion of the true value of customer data. According to an article in The Economist, “data is the new oil,” and it’s no secret anymore that big tech giants like Facebook and Google are making billions on selling it. But how much is your personal data as an individual actually worth?

As it turns out, it depends on who’s asking and what their goals are. Not all data are equal either. In The US a users’ collected data is usually worth less than $1, but an influencer with a huge network and large impact has a higher price on their data than the average joe. In 2013 the Financial Times created a calculator that can show the price tag of an individual’s data, based on their background and lifestyle. As an example, you are worth more if you are getting married or make babies than a childless, single person. If you shop around a lot or have bad health, your data will also be more valuable.

It’s a strange world out there, so let’s dive into the rabbit hole of this much talked about yet little known topic to learn more of how the price tag of your personal data is calculated in some of the most common categories.

Economic Status and Occupation

Here we can see that a person with a normal income working as an accountant is worth $0.079, while the value of a millionaire accountant goes up to $0.195. It’s also interesting to note that the data value of an entrepreneur is $0.107, which is higher than any other job listed, including the pilot, attorney, and chairman. Student as an occupation is not even included here so their data value is probably one of the lowest.

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