Saving: Average savings by age: what Americans have, and what to aim for

What are average savings by age?

The median US family had $8,200 in checking, savings and money market accounts in 2025, according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances. By age of the person heading the family, the medians ran from $5,000 to $14,000.

These figures, from the survey's detailed tables, are "transaction accounts": checking, savings, money market accounts and prepaid cards. Almost every family has one: 98.7% in 2025. They don't include retirement accounts, which are a separate pot.

The survey counts families by the age of the person who heads them, so a couple and a single person are each one family. It runs every three years; 2025 is the latest.

Why is the average so much higher than the median?

Because a few families hold very large balances. The mean transaction account balance in 2025 was $62,900, nearly eight times the median of $8,200.

The median is the family in the middle: half had more, half had less. That makes it the better picture of a typical household. When you see a headline saying the "average American" has tens of thousands in savings, it's usually the mean, and most people have far less.

The spread by income is wider than by age. The median family in the bottom fifth of incomes had $800 in transaction accounts; in the top tenth it was $105,000. Renters had a median of $2,100, homeowners $14,500.

What about retirement savings by age?

Retirement accounts are a separate and much bigger pot, for the families who have one. Among those families, the median balances in 2025 were:

About four in 10 families in most age groups had no retirement account at all, so these medians describe the families who do.

How much should you have saved at your age?

Your target should come from your costs, not your age. Two people aged 35 with different rents and different jobs need different amounts.

A more useful order:

1. One month of take-home pay in an emergency fund. How much should be in an emergency fund explains why this comes first.
2. Three to six months of essential costs: rent, bills, food, transport and minimum debt payments. More if your income is irregular or you're the only earner.
3. Retirement savings in tax-advantaged accounts, alongside the emergency fund once the first month is in place.
4. Specific goals: a deposit, a car, a wedding.

Here's a worked example in round numbers, the same in any currency. Take-home pay is 3,000 a month and essential costs are 2,000. The first target is 3,000. Three months of essentials is 6,000, and six months is 12,000. Those numbers don't change whether you're 28 or 48; your rent does.

If you're below the median for your age, you're in the bottom half of a survey, not behind a rule. The step that matters is the next one: a fixed amount moved on every payday. How much of your income should you save works out what that amount looks like on your pay.

Where should savings be kept?

Emergency money in a separate, insured savings account you can reach within days; long-term money in accounts meant for the long term.

The SCF counts both checking and savings, but they do different jobs. Money that sits in a checking account with your debit card tends to get spent. Where to keep your emergency fund compares the options.

How do you track savings against a target?

Look at all your accounts in one total once a month, and compare it with the target you set from your costs.

In Wealtie, add your checking, savings and cash accounts and the net worth tracker shows them in one total, with transfers between them counted as transfers, not spending. The Free plan includes two accounts; Pro has unlimited accounts. Your monthly budget then shows what's left to save after spending, and Budget Health warns you mid-month if spending is about to eat into it.