How much money should 25 year old have saved?
By age 25, you should aim to have an emergency fund of 3-6 months of living expenses, and start regularly contributing to retirement savings to take advantage of compound interest over time, even if it's just small amounts.
By age 25, you should have saved about $20,000. Looking at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the fourth quarter of 2023, the median salaries for full-time workers were as follows: $712 per week, or $37,024 each year for workers ages 20 to 24.
By age 25, you should have saved at least 0.5X your annual expenses. The more the better. In other words, if you spend $50,000 a year, you should have about $25,000 in savings. If you spend $100,000 a year, you should have at least $50,000 in savings.
Here's how many Americans have more than $100,000 saved for retirement (by age): Age 18-24: 2.1% Age 25-34: 4% Age 35-44: 11.5%
| Average Daily Spending by Americans 25-34 Years Old | |
|---|---|
| Groceries | $10.89 |
| Housing (Rent/Homeownership) | $34.78 |
| Utilities | $8.89 |
| Health Insurance | $6.19 |
Alex Milligan, a marketing and growth specialist, believes that “to be on the right track, you should aim to have saved up at least $20,000 by your 25th birthday. This amount can be achieved through a combination of saving, putting money away in an investment account, starting a business or a mix of all three.”
| Age | Income | Net Worth |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 25 | $35,000 | $87,500 |
| 30 | $50,000 | $150,000 |
| 50 | $55,000 | $275,000 |
The median salary of 20- to 24-year-olds is $706 per week, which translates to $36,712 per year. Many Americans start out their careers in their 20s and don't earn as much as they will once they reach their 30s. For Americans ages 25 to 34, the median salary is $1,003 per week or $52,156 per year.
While $20K may not let you quit your job, it's enough to start building financial security, whether you max out your retirement accounts, invest in fine art, or divide your cash between multiple investments.
Rule of thumb? Aim to have three to six months' worth of expenses set aside. To figure out how much you should have saved for emergencies, simply multiply the amount of money you spend each month on expenses by either three or six months to get your target goal amount.
How many 25 year olds make $100,000 a year?
Only 2% of 25-year-olds make over $100k per year, but this jumps to a considerable 12% by 35. That's a whopping 500% increase in the share of people making $100k or more. 21% of 66-year-olds make $100k per year or more.
When your savings reaches $100,000, that's a milestone worth marking. In a world where 57% of Americans can't cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, having a six-figure savings account is commendable.
By 30, it would be beneficial to have $50,000 saved. This comes from the goal of being able to replace about 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income in retirement.” While having the equivalent of your annual salary saved up by 30 may seem unattainable, Kovar believes it's achievable if you start saving in your 20s.
| Age | Average Account Balance | Median Account Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | $5,236 | $1,948 |
| 25-34 | $30,017 | $11,357 |
| 35-44 | $76,354 | $28,318 |
| 45-54 | $142,069 | $48,301 |
While $40,000 is a good start on the road to building a nest egg, you probably want to retire with a lot more money than that. But it may be more than possible if you commit to saving and investing in a brokerage account consistently for the remainder of your career.
| 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Annually | |
| One person | $3,693 | $40,859 |
| Family of two | $6,372 | $69,382 |
| Family of three | $7,189 | $79,163 |
“In today's times, $50,000 should really be looked at as an emergency fund, rather than something to spend on improving one standard of living,” Jania added. “Further, because inflation is still rampant, if one chooses to increase their standard of living, the cost of that will likely go up even more over time.”
$30,000 at age 20 is a great start. You should continue to add more to grow that balance. Set you goal at $5 million or more. Five million dollars at 4% interest will give you an income to $200,000 every year forever.
Overall, the rule of thumb is to judge by your salary. Typically, by the time you enter retirement you want to have 10 times your annual salary saved up in your retirement fund. One common benchmark is to have two times your annual salary in net worth by age 35.
The Federal Reserve doesn't provide a specific metric for savers in their 20s. Instead, it compiles data on savings and financial assets for Americans under 35. The Fed's most recent numbers show the average savings for the age group that includes 25-year-olds is $20,540. The median savings is $5,400.
Is 20k a lot of money?
Meanwhile, you might have a fairly large savings balance to the tune of $20,000. That's definitely a lot of money. And in some cases, that might constitute a really robust emergency fund. But in some situations, a $20,000 emergency fund might also leave you short.
Someone who has $1 million in liquid assets, for instance, is usually considered to be a high net worth (HNW) individual. You might need $5 million to $10 million to qualify as having a very high net worth while it may take $30 million or more to be considered ultra-high net worth.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 was $59,384. This is up 5.4% from the same time period in 2022 when the average American was making $56,316 per year. Average weekly earnings reached $1,142, while the average American made $4,949 per month in Q4 of 2023.
| Annual Salary | Hourly Wage | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Earners | $86,000 | $41 |
| 75th Percentile | $68,500 | $33 |
| Average | $44,910 | $22 |
| 25th Percentile | $24,500 | $12 |
I would say that a “good amount” would be about six months of living expenses if you are on your own rather than living with your parents. This assumes you are not still in school, but working full time. Most 23 year olds with jobs should be saving some of their income.
