Average Savings for Americans Under 35 How Do You Compare

How much money should you have in the bank by the time you turn 35? There is no single right answer, but Federal Reserve data offers a useful benchmark: Americans under 35 held a median of $5,400 in checking and savings accounts in 2022, and that figure has climbed steadily for a decade.

A Decade of Steady Gains for Younger Savers

Back in 2013, the median transaction account balance for adults under 35 sat at just $2,800. By 2016 it had risen to $3,150, then $3,760 in 2019, and $5,400 in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances. That's nearly double over nine years, and it stands out because under 35 was the only age group whose median balance rose at every single checkpoint the Fed tracked during that period.

Older cohorts didn't follow the same tidy pattern. People age 45 to 54 actually saw their median balance dip between 2016 and 2019 before rebounding. Those 65 to 74 and 75 and older also had years where balances fell. Younger savers, despite dealing with entry level salaries, student debt and rising rent, kept inching their numbers upward year after year.

Comparing age groups side by side helps put the under 35 figure in context:

These figures cover transaction accounts only: checking, savings, money market accounts, brokerage cash and prepaid debit cards. The gap between age groups is easy to explain. Older workers have simply had more years of paychecks to build a cushion, and many under 35 are still paying off loans, covering first apartments or supporting young children.

Why Comparing Yourself to a Median Can Backfire

Chloé Moore, a certified financial planner and founder of Financial Staples, warns against fixating on where you rank against strangers.