It usually starts with a headline. “The average American in their 30s has $X saved,” and suddenly your checking account looks a little thin. Or a coworker mentions their emergency fund like it’s nothing, and you do some quiet math on the drive home.
So here are the real numbers, straight from the Federal Reserve, with none of the inflated averages. Then we’ll get to the part that matters more: why your age group is a shaky yardstick, and what a quick financial health check should measure instead.
Savings by age in the US, at a glance
The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances is the most detailed look at American family finances there is. It runs every three years, and the latest published results are from 2022. The first column below is what most people mean by “savings”: money sitting in checking, savings and money market accounts.
| Age of family head | Checking and savings | Retirement accounts, if you have one | Net worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $5,400 | $18,900 | $39,000 |
| 35 to 44 | $7,500 | $45,000 | $135,300 |
| 45 to 54 | $8,700 | $115,000 | $246,700 |
| 55 to 64 | $8,000 | $185,000 | $364,300 |
| 65 to 74 | $13,400 | $200,000 | $410,000 |
| 75 and over | $10,000 | $130,000 | $334,700 |
Look at how flat that first column is. From your 30s to your 60s, the typical bank balance barely moves, staying under $10,000 for most of working life. The growth happens in retirement accounts and home equity, which is money you can’t easily reach when the transmission goes. That gap is exactly why so many people with a decent net worth still feel one surprise bill away from stress.
What about your decade?
The Fed groups families as under 35, 35 to 44 and so on, so every decade straddles two groups. We give you a range that runs between them. Early in your decade, you’re probably nearer the low end; later, nearer the high end.
- 20s — under about $5,400 in the bank. The youngest group runs all the way to 34, so most people in their 20s sit below its middle.
- 30s — $5,400 to $7,500, plus $19,000 to $45,000 in retirement accounts if you have them.
- 40s — $7,500 to $8,700, plus $45,000 to $115,000 in retirement accounts.
- 50s — about $8,000 to $8,700, plus $115,000 to $185,000 in retirement accounts.
- 60s — $8,000 to $13,400, plus about $185,000 to $200,000 in retirement accounts.
Before you compare yourself
A few honest caveats, because these numbers are easy to misread. First, they’re medians, the family right in the middle, not averages. That matters a lot here. For families under 35, the average checking and savings balance was about $20,500, nearly four times the median. A handful of very large balances drags the average up to a number most people don’t have.
Quick translation: average means “add everyone up and divide,” which a few big accounts can distort. Median means “line everyone up and look at the person in the middle.” When a headline quotes an average, assume the typical American has far less.
Second, these figures are per family, and a couple counts once. If you’re single, you’re comparing one income against what is often two. And third, age says nothing about your city, your student loans, when you started earning, or who you support. Two 32 year olds can share a birthday and nothing else. If you want the wider picture beyond savings, we broke down how your finances compare to the average American on debt, income and bills too.
The number that actually matters
Here’s the target we’d rather you chase: three months of your own expenses, set aside where you can reach it. It’s the same yardstick the Federal Reserve uses in its annual household survey, and unlike an age table it’s built from your life. Spend $4,000 a month and you’re aiming for $12,000.
In the Fed’s 2025 survey, 55% of adults said they had that cushion. By age it climbs from 37% of adults 18 to 29, to 49% at 30 to 44, 55% at 45 to 59 and 71% at 60 and over. So if you’re younger and not there yet, you’re in the majority, not behind it.
The most telling number in that survey isn’t about age at all. Among adults who always had money left over at the end of the month, 86% had three months saved. Among those who never did, just 13% had. The cushion follows the monthly habit, not the birthday. That’s the idea behind a financial health score: a little left over most months, a real safety net and high interest debt kept in check tell you far more than any age median.
Run a financial health check instead
So, is your number fine? If you have some cushion, nothing high interest compounding against you, and a little left over most months, you’re doing the things that build wealth, whatever your age group’s median says. If you can’t answer those three questions yet, that’s the first thing worth finding out.
That’s what Finally does. Upload your bank statements and you get a free financial checkup: how long your savings would carry you, where your money goes each month, and the few changes that would move your number the most. No guilt, no jargon, and no pretending a national median is a personal target.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average savings by age in the US?
Using the median, which is the family in the middle, the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances puts checking and savings balances at about $5,400 where the head of the family is under 35, $7,500 at 35 to 44, $8,700 at 45 to 54, $8,000 at 55 to 64 and $13,400 at 65 to 74. Retirement accounts are counted separately and are much larger for the families that have them.
How much does the average American in their 30s have saved?
Roughly $5,400 to $7,500 in checking and savings, going by the Federal Reserve’s medians for families led by someone under 35 and 35 to 44. Families with a 401(k) or IRA typically hold another $19,000 to $45,000 in it, though only about half of families under 35, and 62% at 35 to 44, have one. Your 30s straddle two of the Fed’s age groups, which is why the answer is a range.
How much should I have saved by 30?
For comparison, a typical family led by someone under 35 has about $5,400 in checking and savings, and about $19,000 in retirement accounts if it has any. As a target, the more useful yardstick is three months of your own expenses set aside, which is the measure the Federal Reserve uses in its household survey. If you spend $4,000 a month, that is $12,000.
What percentage of Americans have three months of expenses saved?
In the Federal Reserve’s 2025 survey, 55% of adults said they had three months of expenses set aside in an emergency or rainy day fund, down from 59% in 2021. It rises with age: 37% of adults 18 to 29, 49% at 30 to 44, 55% at 45 to 59 and 71% at 60 and over.
Is average or median a better savings benchmark?
Median, almost always. For families under 35, the average checking and savings balance in the Fed’s 2022 survey was about $20,500, nearly four times the median of $5,400, because a small number of very large balances pull the average up. When a headline quotes an average savings figure, assume the typical American has far less.
