Vanguard’s most recent How America Saves report puts the average 401(k) balance at $148,153 and the median at $38,176. Both figures come from the same dataset of roughly 5 million defined contribution participants across 1,400+ plans. Only one of them describes what a typical American worker actually has in their retirement account.
The mean is an arithmetic average, while the median is the middle value. If ten workers have $5,000 each and one more walks in with $5 million, the median stays at $5,000 while the average leaps toward half a million. Something similar happens across the 401(k) system: a relatively small group of long-tenured, high-income savers pulls the average far above where the middle actually sits. The gap between $148,153 and $38,176 reflects that skew.
Why the Average Is the Misleading Number
The average has been climbing steadily. Vanguard’s balance figures moved from $129,157 in 2020 to $141,542, then dipped to $112,572 in 2022 before rising to $134,128 and $148,153 in the most recent reading. The median moved in the same direction on a much smaller scale, rising from $33,472 to $38,176 over the same period. Fidelity’s separate dataset of 53 million retirement accounts shows a similar average: $146,400 in Q4 2025, up 11% from a year earlier.
A worker looking at the average and comparing it to their own balance will often conclude they are behind. A worker looking at the median will often conclude they are close to typical. Both readings come from the same underlying population. The average is doing more work for the highest-balance participants than for anyone else.
The Age Breakdown
Fidelity’s balances by age, drawn from Q4 2024, give a cleaner sense of trajectory:
- Ages 20-24: $7,300
- Ages 30-34: $45,700
- Ages 40-44: $109,100
- Ages 50-54: $199,900
- Ages 60-64: $246,500
By generation, Fidelity’s Q3 2025 report puts Baby Boomer balances at $267,900, Gen X at $217,500, Millennials at $80,700, and Gen Z at $17,000. Vanguard’s age-specific median for participants aged 65 and older is $95,425, compared with an average of $299,442 for the same cohort. The mean-median gap widens with age because compounding rewards the participants who started earliest and stayed continuously employed.
The Income Reality Behind the Median
Median usual weekly earnings for full-time workers were $1,235 in the first quarter of 2026, up from $1,139 in the first quarter of 2024. Average annual household expenditures reached $78,535 in 2024. The personal savings rate has fallen from 6.2% in the first quarter of 2024 to 3.9% in the first quarter of 2026. Consumer sentiment sits at 44.8 as of May 2026, below the recessionary threshold of 60. Credit card delinquencies are running at 2.9%, within the Federal Reserve’s normalizing band.
That macro backdrop is consistent with a median balance stuck around $38,176. Households with less room in the budget contribute less, pause contributions during job changes, and take earlier withdrawals. The average deferral rate is 7.7%, and the median is 6.8%. Fidelity’s suggested combined savings rate is 15%, and its age-based milestone calls for 6x salary saved by 50 and 10x by 67.
What the Two Numbers Say Together
The average describes the aggregate wealth sitting in employer plans. The median describes the balance a middle worker is likely to have. Vanguard’s own summary shows $48.1 trillion in total U.S. retirement assets, roughly a third of all household financial assets, concentrated most heavily among older and higher-earning participants.
For a reader comparing themselves to a benchmark, the median is the more useful reference. For a reader interested in how much retirement wealth exists in the system, the average is the more useful reference. The two figures answer different questions, and using one to answer the other is what makes the $148,153 number misleading when it appears without the $38,176 beside it.
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