How much does the average American have in savings?

Nearly half of Americans consider themselves financially secure (49%), but many others do not feel the same level of comfort. One in 10 consumers do not have any savings (12%) while a slightly higher percentage of consumers say they have less than $100 in their savings account (14%). A further 13% of Americans say they have between $1,000 and $4,999 in savings. Altogether, that means that half of all Americans have less than $5,000 to fall back on.

YouGov data suggests women are more likely than men to have less money in their savings accounts. A tenth of American men (11%) have less than $100 in savings, while this increases substantially (16%) among women. There is a significant gender gap among those with $100,000 or more in savings. Almost one in ten men have $100,000 or more in savings, but the figure falls by four percentage points for women (9% men vs. 5% women).

It’s perhaps no surprise that being in a marriage increases the chances of a person having savings and Americans who are wed are most likely to say they have savings across the higher bands. On the other hand, those in a domestic or civil partnership are at the other end of the scale. They are more likely to have no savings (17%) or less than $100 (21%) and less likely to have savings that fall in the higher bands (for example, they are the least likely of all groups to say that they have $50,000-99,999 saved up).

We also look into some intriguing insights into attitudes toward their financial futures in relation to their current savings. 16% of American adults who have no savings expect their financial situation to worsen, while 11% believe things will remain the same, while less than a tenth hold an optimistic outlook in the upcoming year (7%).

The data takes a slightly more positive turn when we look at those with $1,000 to $4,999 in savings. Here, nearly a fifth expect their financial situation to improve (19%), outpacing those who predict their situation will worsen (12%) or remain the same (13%). This suggests that having a modest savings buffer may influence consumer confidence positively.

Among those with savings exceeding $100,000, just under a tenth of them expect their financial situation to get better (9%). This is marginally more than those who anticipate a downturn or no change (5% and 7%). Despite their substantial savings, this group’s outlook is not dramatically different from those at the other end of the savings spectrum. In this separate piece we take a deeper dive into the attitudes and demographics of consumers with more than $100,000 in savings.

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Methodology

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the US is nationally representative of the online population and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.