What Is the Average Bank Account Balance?

Chatting on the sofa — ••• PeopleImages / Getty Images

Updated January 13, 2020

Your bank is the place to keep cash that you plan to spend soon. It’s also a smart choice for emergency savings, since the funds are easy to access when you need them. But it’s hard to know how much to keep in the bank. While comparisons sometimes promote unhealthy behavior, knowing what other people do with their money may be helpful—especially if you drill down into the details.

What Is the Average Bank Account Balance?

The Federal Reserve gathers information about income, debt, assets, and other financial details every three years in the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). The most recent SCF, from 2016, measures holdings in checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and prepaid debit cards. Summary results from the 2019 survey should be available in early 2020.

The median bank account balance for U.S. households is $4,500, and the average bank account balance is $40,200. In the 2016 study, 98% of households had balances to report, compared to 93% in the 2013 survey. That increase is primarily due to including prepaid debit cards as a “transaction account” along with traditional checking and savings accounts.

Why the Median Is a Better Number Than the Average

As you can see, the average is significantly higher than the median in these results. That’s because households with extremely high account balances bring the average higher, but the median is probably more meaningful for most of the U.S. population.

The median is the middle of all survey responses after lining up every response in order from largest to smallest.
The average is a calculation that also includes every response, but a small percentage of the population with significant savings can skew the data.

Average Bank Account Balance and Income

Not surprisingly, your household income influences the amount of money you keep in the bank. Higher-income households tend to have more in checking and savings. The 2016 SCF shows that of those in the bottom 20th percentile, only 32% of households saved money. But in the top 20th percentile, over 82% of families saved.

Here’s a breakdown of the median bank account balance in several income categories:

Bottom 20th percentile, with an average income of $14,400: $600
Next 20th percentile, with an average income of $31,800: $1,700
Next 20th percentile, with an average income of $53,400: $3,800
Next 20th percentile, with an average income of $87,400: $8,200
Next 10th percentile, with an average income of $138,700: $18,700
Top 10th percentile, with an average income of $514,700: $62,000

Again, the average bank account balance for those groups is higher, due to a small portion of households with significant savings. For example, in the bottom 20th percentile, the average account balance is $4,600, and the top 10th percentile of households keeps over $230,000 in the bank.

Occupation and Bank Account Holdings

Your job directly influences your income, so it makes sense the type of role you fill affects your bank account. The SCF shows the median bank account balances for the following types of workers:

Managerial or professional: $11,000, with an average of $72,200
Technical, sales, or service: $3,000, with an average of $20,700
Other occupations: $2,300, with an average of $11,000
Retired or not working: $3,000, with an average of $39,900

Bank Account Balances by Race

There are also significant differences in bank account holdings by members of various races. The SCF reveals the median account balances using the categories below:

White non-Hispanic: $7,000, with an average of $51,600
Black or African-American non-Hispanic: $1,400, with an average of $8,600
Hispanic or Latino: $1,500, with an average of $16,700
Other or Multiple Race: $4,000, with an average of $34,000

Family Structure Affects Your Finances

Those with children may wonder how others fare, and childless couples may not appreciate the benefits of dual-income-no-kids (DINK) status. Families of various types have the following median transaction account holdings:

Single with child(ren): $1,200, with an average of $11,700
Single, no child, under age 55: $2,400, with an average of $13,300
Single, no child, over age 55: $3,000, with an average of $34,400
Couple with child(ren): $5,700, with an average of $42,800
Couple, no child: $9,000, with an average of $66,600

Education and Higher Account Balances

More education seems to run in tandem with higher bank account balances. College degrees and advanced courses of study can certainly increase your income. But it’s important to acknowledge the problems that come with excessive student debt, and the role that socioeconomic advantages play in education and personal finance in general.

The SCF shows increasing median account balances as education increases (using the head of household’s education level).

No high school diploma: $900, with an average of $7,600
High school diploma: $2,100, with an average of $16,700
Some college: $3,500, with an average of $18,900
College degree: $15,000, with an average of $86,100

Types of Account Balances Included in the Survey

The SCF includes the following types of accounts in the category of “transaction accounts”:

Checking accounts, typically used for everyday spending and direct deposit
Savings accounts, which tend to pay interest on savings, but are not as liquid as checking accounts
Money market accounts that pay interest and may include payment cards or a checkbook
Prepaid debit cards, which can work as a substitute for a bank account

Note that the list does not include certificates of deposit (CDs). The average household has $75,000 in CDs (with a median of $6,500) and similar demographic factors affect those account balances.

The addition of prepaid cards is a significant change, adding one in 20 households to the list of survey respondents that has money in savings. Those households might be considered “underbanked,” and they either choose not to have a bank account or they are not able to open one. While prepaid cards provide valuable financial services, it’s still helpful to have access to local bank and credit union services.