Average Balance by Income
Average Bank Account Balance by Income Bracket
The typical U.S. household holds about $7,850 across checking, savings, and money market accounts combined — from $800 in the bottom income bracket to $111,600 in the top 10% — per a direct recomputation of the Fed's own 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances microdata.
Last reviewed August 26, 2026 · SwitchWize Research Desk
Median balance, all households
$7,850
Fed published: $8,000
Top-bracket median
$111,600
Top 10%
Live rate gap
3.72pts
4.1000000000000005% best vs 0.38% national avg
Why one national average isn't the whole story
Bankrate, WalletHub, and most personal-finance sites report the Fed's overall figure and stop there. The Fed's own Survey of Consumer Finances already breaks liquid balances out by income bracket — we recomputed it directly from the public microdata to confirm it (our overall median came out to $7,850 against the Fed's published $8,000), then laid SwitchWize's own live rate spread on top of each bracket's real balance instead of a flat, made-up example amount.
| Income bracket | Median balance | Median income | Annual gap at avg rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom 20% | $800 | $20,537 | $30/yr |
| 20th-40th percentile | $2,450 | $43,236 | $91/yr |
| 40th-60th percentile (middle) | $7,200 | $70,259 | $268/yr |
| 60th-80th percentile | $15,700 | $115,658 | $584/yr |
| 80th-90th percentile | $33,800 | $189,160 | $1,257/yr |
| Top 10% | $111,600 | $390,209 | $4,152/yr |
The same balances, cut by age instead of income
The Fed's own microdata also classifies households by the age of the reference person (18-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and 75+) — the same weighted-median method applied to that classification instead of income:
| Age bracket | Median balance | Median income | Annual gap at avg rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $5,300 | $60,531 | $197/yr |
| 35 to 44 | $7,090 | $86,473 | $264/yr |
| 45 to 54 | $8,520 | $91,878 | $317/yr |
| 55 to 64 | $7,200 | $82,149 | $268/yr |
| 65 to 74 | $13,000 | $60,531 | $484/yr |
| 75 and older | $10,000 | $49,073 | $372/yr |
Methodology
Balances are the median liquid-account holding (checking + savings + money market + call accounts) for each of the Fed's own six income-percentile brackets, computed directly from the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances public microdata and analysis weights -- not transcribed from the Bulletin's headline figure. The annual dollar gap applies SwitchWize's live rate spread (today's best widely-available savings APY versus the FDIC national average) to each bracket's real median balance, the same live inputs the Bank Gap Index uses on a flat illustrative balance.
The Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances runs every three years; this uses the 2022 wave, the most recent available (the 2025 wave is expected in late 2026). The rate-gap layer updates live and can move independently of the survey data. Median liquid balance is not the same as a single savings-account balance -- it combines checking, savings, money market, and call accounts.
Sources
- Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, Summary Extract Public Data (rscfp2022.dta) — SwitchWize Research -- weighted-median computation over the Fed's own public microdata and analysis weights (WGT/5 across 5 multiple-imputation implicates); not transcribed from the Bulletin PDF
- SwitchWize Bank Gap Index — Live spread between the best widely-available savings APY (4.1000000000000005%) and the FDIC national average (0.38%), as of August 2026.
How to cite this
SwitchWize, "Average Bank Account Balance by Income Bracket." Retrieved August 2026.
View the raw dataset (JSON) →Educational information, not personalized financial advice. Rates are illustrative of current market conditions and should be confirmed with the provider.