Find your age group below. The shows the middle household among families that hold transaction accounts. The and show the wider range of cash balances inside each age band.
Household transaction-account savings by Federal Reserve age-of-head band from Rankk calculations using SCF 2022 microdata among households holding transaction accounts. Columns are 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile.
Age group
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
Under 35
$1,022
$5,500
$17,606
35–44
$1,442
$7,438
$32,258
45–54
$1,637
$8,710
$37,228
55–64
$1,464
$7,854
$44,228
65–74
$1,942
$13,720
$64,386
75+
$1,990
$10,250
$42,640
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2022)1,2. Percentile analysis: Rankk. Figures are for households holding transaction accounts. Display amounts are rounded for readability.
How to read the savings benchmarks
Take the 35–44 age group as an example. The 25th-percentile benchmark is about $1,442, the median is about $7,438, and the 75th percentile is about $32,258.
Below the median means your household’s transaction-account balance sits in the lower half for that age group among account holders. That can reflect early career cash flow, recent expenses, or a choice to keep more money invested elsewhere.
Above the median means your household has more money in these accounts than at least half of households in the same age group that hold transaction accounts.
Above the 75th percentile means you are in the top quarter for liquid balances in that age band. Cash alone still does not describe income stability, debt, or long-term wealth.
These numbers answer a cash comparison question. They do not say whether a household has enough for its own emergency needs or whether its full finances are strong.
What is a good amount of savings for your age?
A practical benchmark is to be above the median for your age group. That means your household has more transaction-account savings than at least half of U.S. households in the same age band that hold these accounts. Reaching the 75th percentile puts you above roughly three-quarters on this cash measure.
This page measures liquid, cash-like balances—not your full financial position. Someone below the median can still be investing steadily or building home equity. Someone above it may still have thin reserves relative to their expenses. If the question is simply “How does my bank balance compare with people my age?”, the median is a clear dividing line.
Here’s what tends to shape transaction-account balances in each age group, beyond the percentiles in the table.
Savings under 35
Younger households often keep less cash on hand while income is still rising and student loans, rent, or a first home purchase compete for every dollar. An emergency buffer still matters, but many people in this band prioritize paying down high-interest debt or starting retirement contributions alongside a smaller cash cushion.
Cash needs also spike around moving, job changes, or irregular income. Two households the same age can look very different if one is stockpiling a down payment and the other is rebuilding after a gap between paychecks.
Savings ages 35–44
Mid-career households often face a tug-of-war between building emergency reserves and putting money into housing, childcare, and investing. Transaction accounts in this band can look modest even when retirement balances or home equity are growing, because cash is the account people draw from for everyday volatility.
Larger planned expenses—home repairs, medical bills, or a career transition—also show up here as higher cash balances for some households and thinner cushions for others.
Savings ages 45–54
Peak earning years can lift bank balances, but college costs, aging parents, and mortgage payments can keep liquid savings uneven inside the same age group. Some households keep more cash for near-term obligations; others keep operating balances lean and push surplus into investments.
The useful question is whether cash coverage matches the household’s real risk of income interruption or large bills—not whether the bank balance matches a neighbor’s.
Savings ages 55–64
As retirement approaches, many households hold more liquid reserves for healthcare gaps, job loss risk, or the bridge before Social Security and portfolio withdrawals. Others still have thin transaction balances because wealth is concentrated in a house or retirement accounts that are harder to tap quickly.
Cash here is often a flexibility tool: it funds near-term spending without forcing a sale of investments at a bad time.
Savings ages 65–74
This band shows the highest median transaction-account balance in the set. Retirement transitions, pension or Social Security deposits, and a preference for accessible cash can all raise checking and savings balances even when total net worth is spread across other assets.
Higher cash does not always mean more financial security. Some households park proceeds from a home sale or required distributions temporarily, while others keep only what they need for monthly spending.
Savings age 75+
Later-life households may draw down cash for living costs, healthcare, gifts, or housing changes, which can pull transaction balances below the 65–74 peak even when the household remains financially stable. Others keep larger liquid cushions to avoid selling investments or to cover help at home.
Comparing only to younger bands can mislead: spending patterns and income sources look different after full retirement.
Why savings and net worth tell different stories
Savings on this page means transaction accounts, including checking, savings, money market, and prepaid balances. Net worth by age measures everything a household owns minus what it owes.
That split matters. A household can have low cash savings and still hold substantial home equity or investments. Another can keep a large bank balance while carrying high-interest debt that keeps net worth low. Cash answers “How much is easy to spend?” Net worth answers “What is left after debts?”
What matters more than age when comparing savings?
Age bands are a useful starting point, but cash needs follow the household’s circumstances more than a birthday. Income, rent or mortgage costs, local cost of living, household size, debt payments, homeownership, and upcoming expenses all change how much people keep in transaction accounts.
Two households at the same age can have similar bank balances for very different reasons—one building an emergency fund, another parking a bonus before investing it. If you want a comparison that looks beyond age alone, see how Rankk compares your finances.
Average vs. median savings: Which is more useful?
“Average savings by age” is a common search, but the mean can be pulled higher by a small number of households with very large cash balances. The median is usually a better picture of a typical household.
This guide therefore focuses on the median and the 25th–75th percentile range rather than reporting an average we have not calculated.
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How to use these savings benchmarks
These numbers are reference points, not required targets. They describe national household transaction-account balances among families that hold those accounts. They do not adjust for income, city, household size, or cost of living, and they do not say how much cash any one household “should” keep for emergencies.
Where the numbers come from
Rankk calculates the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile of Federal Reserve transaction-account balances () inside the official age-of-head groups, among households that hold transaction accounts ()4. Survey weights are applied, and estimates are averaged across the survey’s five implicates. About 98.64% of households held these accounts in the 2022 SCF. Age-band medians were validated against Federal Reserve Bulletin Table 6 conditional medians3; the all-family conditional median in Rankk’s analysis is $8,072.
What these numbers cannot tell you
They do not include retirement accounts, brokerage investments, or home equity. They do not measure whether someone has “enough” for a personal emergency fund. They also do not separate how much of a balance is sitting idle versus waiting for an upcoming bill. This public guide uses broad Federal Reserve age groups. Rankk can use more detailed information inside the product to make comparisons more specific to your financial situation.
