Average 401(k) balance by age
Among people who have a 401(k), the typical balance is $16,000 at 25–34, $35,000 at 35–44, $76,000 at 45–54 and $100,000 at 55–64. Averages are 2.2 to 3.4 times the median, pulled up by a small number of very large accounts. Enter yours below to see where you rank against people your age.
Average and median 401(k) balance by age, per person
| Age | Have a 401(k) | Median balance | Average balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | 19% | too few to report | too few to report |
| 25–34 | 36% | $16,000 | $36,000 |
| 35–44 | 39% | $35,000 | $89,800 |
| 45–54 | 42% | $76,000 | $198,100 |
| 55–64 | 33% | $100,000 | $335,800 |
| 65–74 | 13% | $153,000 | $469,400 |
| 75+ | 5% | too few to report | too few to report |
Median and average are among people who have a 401(k). Dotted: less precise. Dash: too few people in the survey to report. Under 25 and 75 and older are too thin to describe balances — at 75 and older only 5% still hold one.
Enter your age and balance to see how many people your age with a 401(k) have less than you — and how many have none at all.
How much should you have in your 401(k) by age?
There is no single right number. Rules of thumb set a target as a multiple of your salary, and whether you are on track depends on when you started, what you earn and when you plan to stop. What the survey can tell you is what people your age actually have — which is the comparison most people are really asking for.
At 30, the typical 401(k) among people aged 25 to 34 who have one is $16,000. At 40, the typical 401(k) among people aged 35 to 44 who have one is $35,000. At 50, the typical 401(k) among people aged 45 to 54 who have one is $76,000. At 60, the typical 401(k) among people aged 55 to 64 who have one is $100,000. Half of the people with a 401(k) at each age have less than that, and most people aged 25 to 34 have no 401(k) at all — 64% of them.
Being below the median is common and is not a verdict on its own: an IRA, a pension or a partner's account is not in these figures. To compare your whole retirement savings, IRAs included, use the retirement savings percentile calculator.
401(k) percentiles by age
The median is the middle person. The rest of the range is wide: at 45 to 54 the bottom tenth of 401(k) holders have under $5,000 and the top tenth have more than $525,000. Each row is people that age who have a 401(k); the calculator above places any balance between these points.
Round numbers repeat because people report round balances — "about $100,000" — so many people sit on exactly the same figure. The calculator counts how many when you land on one.
Balance at each percentile, per person
| Age | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25–34 | $2,000 | $5,300 | $16,000 | $45,000 | $82,400 |
| 35–44 | $3,000 | $10,000 | $35,000 | $120,000 | $246,000 |
| 45–54 | $5,000 | $25,000 | $76,000 | $200,000 | $525,000 |
| 55–64 | $8,000 | $30,000 | $100,000 | $370,000 | $964,000 |
| 65–74 | $13,000 | $45,000 | $153,000 | $416,000 | $1,000,000 |
Dotted: less precise. Dash: too few people in the survey to report.
Why 401(k)s seem to disappear after 65
42% of people aged 45 to 54 have a 401(k). At 65 to 74 it is 13%, and at 75 and older 5%. The money has not vanished: most people roll their 401(k) into an IRA when they leave work, and an IRA is not a 401(k). The older rows of the table describe the minority who left their money in an employer plan.
For the whole picture after 65 — IRAs, 401(k)s and every other retirement account together — use the retirement savings percentile calculator.
Why other 401(k) figures look different
Most published 401(k) averages come from the companies that run the plans, and they count accounts, not people: one plan at one employer, among that company's customers. Someone with an old 401(k) at each of three jobs shows up as three small balances. This page counts each person once, across every 401(k) they hold, from a national survey of all households.
It is also per person rather than per household. The Fed reports households, which adds a couple's accounts together; a married couple then looks richer than either of them is, and a single person comparing against that figure looks behind. Per household, the median at 55 to 64 is $125,000 against $100,000 per person. The calculator has both.
Where these numbers come from
The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, 2022 — the full public data set, not the summary tables. It interviewed 4,595 households and is weighted to represent all of them in the US. It is the survey the Fed uses for its own reports on household wealth.
Balances are what people reported in 2022. Nothing is modelled or projected. The Fed's next survey is due in late 2026, and these figures will move to it then.
401(k), 403(b), 457, thrift and TSP-type accounts: at a current job, left at an old one, or being drawn down in retirement. Not IRAs — including IRAs that started as a rolled-over 401(k).
The Fed reports households, adding a couple's accounts together. This page splits every household back into the two people who own the accounts, and checks that the two add back to the Fed's household figure for all 22,975 survey records. The household view is one tap away in the calculator.
The same calculation, run on the Fed's own retirement-account totals, reproduces the Fed's published 2022 tables: the share holding an account to four decimal places and the median to the dollar in every age group but 75 and older.
An age group is ranked only when the survey can place a balance within 5 percentile points either way, measured with the Fed's own replicate weights. Under 25 and 75 and older fall short and show only how many people hold an account.
Each median and average is printed only if the survey can pin it down: a dotted underline means it is less precise, and a dash means it is too uncertain to print. That is the standard the National Center for Health Statistics uses for survey tables.
Balances are as reported in 2022, in 2022 dollars. Markets have risen since, so today's balances are likely higher. Adults living in someone else's household, such as a young adult at a parent's, are not surveyed separately.
Questions people ask
What is the average 401(k) balance by age?
Among people who have a 401(k), the average balance is $36,000 at ages 25–34, $89,800 at ages 35–44, $198,100 at ages 45–54 and $335,800 at ages 55–64, according to the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Averages run 2.2 to 3.4 times the median because a small number of very large accounts pull them up, so the median — $16,000 at 25–34, $35,000 at 35–44, $76,000 at 45–54 and $100,000 at 55–64 — is closer to what a typical person has.
What is the median 401(k) balance by age?
Half of people with a 401(k) have more than the median and half have less: $16,000 at 25–34, $35,000 at 35–44, $76,000 at 45–54 and $100,000 at 55–64, and $153,000 at 65–74. These are per person, from the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances.
What percentage of people have a 401(k)?
About 29% of adults who head a household or are a spouse or partner in one hold a 401(k)-type account. It peaks at 42% of people aged 45 to 54 and falls to 13% at 65 to 74 and 5% at 75 and older, because most retirees roll their 401(k) into an IRA.
Is $100,000 in a 401(k) a lot for my age?
Among people who have a 401(k), $100,000 is more than about 71% of holders aged 35 to 44, about 54% of holders aged 45 to 54 and about 49% of holders aged 55 to 64 have. Whether it is enough depends on your income and when you plan to retire; this page measures what people actually have, not what they need.
How much should I have in my 401(k) by my age?
Rules of thumb set targets as a multiple of salary; this page measures what people actually have, which is a different question. The typical person with a 401(k) has $16,000 at 25–34, $35,000 at 35–44, $76,000 at 45–54 and $100,000 at 55–64. Being below the median is common and not a verdict — savings in IRAs, a pension, or a partner's account are not in these figures.
Does this include IRAs?
No. It counts 401(k), 403(b), 457, thrift and TSP-type accounts, including ones left at an old employer or being drawn down in retirement. IRAs are left out, including IRAs that began as a rolled-over 401(k). To compare all of your retirement savings, IRAs included, use the retirement savings percentile calculator.
Why do 401(k) balances seem to drop after 65?
They mostly move rather than drop. 42% of people aged 45 to 54 hold a 401(k), but only 13% at 65 to 74 and 5% at 75 and older, because retirees typically roll the money into an IRA, which this page does not count. Figures for older ages describe the minority who left their money in an employer plan.
How current is this data?
It is the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, published in October 2023 — the most recent edition. The Fed has said results from its 2025 survey will be published in late 2026, and this page will move to them then. Markets have risen since 2022, so today's balances are likely higher than these.
Does anything I type get sent anywhere?
Your balance and your age stay in your browser. We record that a comparison was made, whether it was per person or per household, your age group and the resulting percentile, so we can see whether the tool is useful — never the dollar amount and never your exact age. There is no account, email field or bank connection on this page.
Where you rank is a fact about other people. How much more you can put away depends on your account.
Efficient Dollar reads what is actually leaving your accounts before your next payday and tells you what today’s money is free for — including how much more could go toward retirement without leaving you short.
See how much more I could saveFigures are from the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, in 2022 dollars, for people who head a household or are the spouse or partner of one. They describe what people reported holding, not what anyone should hold. People under 25 and 75 or older are not ranked. Last updated September 30, 2026.