Average Savings by Age: What the Fed's 2025 Survey Shows
Most pages on average savings by age still use the Federal Reserve’s 2022 survey. The Fed released its 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances (opens in a new tab) on October 9, 2026, and the new numbers are lower for young families. The typical family under 35 had $5,000 in checking and savings. The average was $20,500. Both are real, and the gap between them is the first thing to understand before you compare yourself to either one.
What is the average savings by age in the US?
In 2025, the typical American family had $8,200 in checking, savings and money market accounts, and the average was $62,900, according to the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances (opens in a new tab). The median rises slowly with age, from $5,000 for families under 35 to $14,000 for those 75 and older.
| Age | Median (typical family) | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $5,000 | $20,500 |
| 35 to 44 | $6,800 | $40,800 |
| 45 to 54 | $9,400 | $62,800 |
| 55 to 64 | $10,000 | $90,600 |
| 65 to 74 | $10,000 | $79,100 |
| 75 and older | $14,000 | $97,200 |
| All families | $8,200 | $62,900 |
Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2025 (opens in a new tab) historical tables, table 6, transaction accounts among families that have one. Checking, savings, money market and call accounts and prepaid cards. Excludes CDs, retirement accounts and investments.
Why the average is so much higher than the median
The median is the family in the middle: line everyone up by balance and take the one at the center. The average adds every balance together and divides. A small number of families with very large balances pull the average up and leave the median where it was. In the 55 to 64 group, the average is nine times the median.
So the median is the number to compare yourself with. The Fed also warns that its averages “may be sensitive to outliers”, which is one more reason not to use them as a target.
What these numbers count, and what they leave out
- Families, not people. The survey groups everyone who shares finances in a household and sorts them by the age of the person it treats as the head. Two incomes and one shared balance are one row.
- Only families with an account. At least 98% of families in every age group have one, so this barely moves the result, but the medians leave out the few with none.
- Cash accounts only. A 401(k), an IRA, a CD or a brokerage account isn’t in this table. Retirement accounts are below.
What changed since 2022?
Young families lost ground. The Fed reports every year’s figures in 2025 dollars, so the comparison already accounts for inflation. On that basis, the median checking and savings balance for families under 35 fell from $5,900 in 2022 to $5,000 in 2025, about 15%. For families aged 35 to 44, it fell from $8,200 to $6,800.
The “$5,400 for under 35” figure on many sites is the 2022 median in 2022 dollars. It’s out of date in two ways: it isn’t adjusted for inflation, and it comes from the old survey.
Older age groups moved both ways, and the median across all families fell 6%, to $8,200. The bigger change for young families is in net worth, covered further down.
How much do Americans have in retirement accounts by age?
About half of families under 35 have a retirement account, and those that do hold a median of $21,000. Ownership peaks at about 63% between 45 and 64, and the median balance for those holders climbs to $239,000 by 55 to 64.
| Age | Families with a retirement account | Median balance | Average balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 48.8% | $21,000 | $48,400 |
| 35 to 44 | 59.6% | $61,200 | $182,400 |
| 45 to 54 | 63.0% | $133,000 | $415,800 |
| 55 to 64 | 63.1% | $239,000 | $670,200 |
| 65 to 74 | 49.0% | $257,000 | $767,600 |
| 75 and older | 44.6% | $257,000 | $798,700 |
Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2025 historical tables, table 6. Balances are among families that have an account: IRAs, Keogh accounts and employer plans like a 401(k), 403(b) or the Thrift Savings Plan. Traditional pensions aren’t included.
The median balances leave out every family without an account, which is about half of those under 35. Across all families that age, the median retirement balance is zero.
What is the median net worth by age?
Net worth is everything a family owns, including a home, a car and retirement accounts, minus everything it owes. It’s the widest measure, and it’s where young families slipped the most. The median for families under 35 fell 23% after inflation, from $42,700 in 2022 to $33,000 in 2025.
| Age | Median net worth, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Under 35 | $33,000 |
| 35 to 44 | $155,600 |
| 45 to 54 | $253,700 |
| 55 to 64 | $411,900 |
| 65 to 74 | $431,300 |
| 75 and older | $504,900 |
| All families | $215,900 |
Federal Reserve, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025 (opens in a new tab), table 2.
Very little of the jump between the first two rows is cash. Checking and savings only go from $5,000 to $6,800 over the same step. Our guide to average net worth by age has the averages, the homeowner and renter gap, and what changed since 2022.
How much should you have saved by your age?
There are two kinds of target, and they’re easy to mix up. Fidelity’s well-known rule is to save at least 1x your salary by 30 (opens in a new tab), 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60 and 10x by 67. That’s retirement savings, and it assumes you save 15% of your income from age 25, employer match included, and retire at 67.
Cash is a separate goal. The usual first one is an emergency fund of three to six months of essential expenses, kept where you can reach it. Plenty of people aren’t there yet. In the Fed’s 2025 survey of household well-being (opens in a new tab), 63% of adults said they would cover a $400 surprise expense with cash or its equivalent. Among adults 18 to 29, it was 45%, down from 58% in 2021.
What a weekly amount adds up to
Pick the weekly amount you can actually keep up and read across.
| You save each week | After 6 months | After 1 year | After 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20 | $520 | $1,040 | $2,080 |
| $50 | $1,300 | $2,600 | $5,200 |
| $100 | $2,600 | $5,200 | $10,400 |
| $200 | $5,200 | $10,400 | $20,800 |
Straight multiplication, before any interest.
At $100 a week, you’d pass the under-35 median of $5,000 in just under a year. At $50 a week, a $400 surprise is covered in two months.
Where should your savings sit?
In an account that’s insured and pays more than the average. The FDIC’s national average rate on savings accounts was 0.37% as of September 21, 2026 (opens in a new tab), and many online banks and credit unions pay well above that, so it’s worth comparing before you leave money in a low-rate account. Deposits at an FDIC-insured bank are covered up to $250,000 (opens in a new tab) per depositor, per bank, for each ownership category. Credit unions have the same limit through the NCUA.
Keep money you may need within a year or two out of the stock market, where a bad month can arrive right when you need it.
Making saving feel worth it
Knowing the median doesn’t make anyone save. The hard part is that saving is invisible: you move $50, the balance ticks up, nothing else happens, and after a few weeks it’s easy to stop.
We make Lodavo, a prize-linked savings app built to fix that. The more you save, the more free tickets you get for weekly cash prize draws. Your money stays in your own bank account, earning whatever it already earns. Lodavo is live in Canada and coming to the US.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.
In Canada? Our Canadian guide to average savings by age uses Statistics Canada’s numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I have saved by 30?
Do these savings numbers include my 401(k) or my home?
Is it normal to have almost nothing saved?
How often does the Fed update these numbers?
Prize-linked savings, coming to the US
Want Lodavo in your state?
With Lodavo, saving earns you free tickets for weekly cash prize draws, and your money stays in your own account. It’s already live in Canada.
You're on the list
We'll email you as soon as Lodavo is ready in your state. When it is, sign up with this email to get your 100 bonus tickets.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.