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American savings statistics 2022

Americans will save $4,117 less than they did in 2020.

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By

Patricia Cruz

&

Richard Laycock

Updated

Fact checked

Savings may have skyrocketed over the course of the pandemic, but the cost of living worldwide has increased significantly. The average household savings among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations is predicted to dip by 6 percentage points from 2020 to 2022, according to Finder’s analysis of data from the OECD.

Key Statistics

Global ranking

7th for predicted 2022 savings rate

Savings rate

9% of household disposable income will be set aside as savings

Savings in USD

$4,603 in savings per American household by year-end

Quick summary:

  • America ranks 7th for predicted savings, behind Switzerland and Germany but ahead of Australia and Canada.
  • Households will save about 9% of their disposable income in 2022, higher than the global average of 7%.
  • The American savings rate dropped significantly from 17% in 2020.
  • The average American household savings is forecast around 4,603 in 2022 – $4,117 less than they would have saved in 2020.
  • Household savings are predicted to drop by an average of $1,897 across OECD nations.

Drop in American household savings

  • Americans’ savings are expected to hit 9% of their disposable income in 2022.
  • With an average disposable income of $51,147, this means that American households are setting aside $4,603 for their savings in 2022.
  • Although this ranks the United States in the top 10 savers according to the OECD, it’s a significant drop from their actual savings in 2020 of 17%.

How the United States compares to the rest of the world

  • On average, households in countries included in the OECD are expected to save about 7% of their disposable income in 2022.
  • Leading the way are the Swiss who are forecasted to save a fifth (20%) of their household income. This is followed by Luxembourg at 17% and Sweden at 14%.
  • In US dollars, this means the Swiss are saving an estimated $7,979 on average this year. Luxembourgers don’t fall too far behind at $7,745, followed by the Swedes at $4,655.
  • Countries and regions on par with the global average are Austria, Slovenia, Estonia and the Euro Area, whose households are expected to save 7% of their income.
  • On the other end of the spectrum are Polish adults who are predicted to have no savings this 2022. In fact, households in Poland may go into debt by 1% of their household income; the equivalent of -$213. Kiwis are also expected to go into debt by -0.2% or $78 and Italians round off the bottom 3 by saving just 1% of their income in 2022.

Global drop in household savings

  • Globally, households are saving about 6 percentage points less of their disposable income now than they would have in 2020. In 2020, household savings averaged 13%, much higher compared to the predicted 7% for 2022.
  • This means savings dropped by an average of $1,897 across the OECD nations.
  • Ireland is expected to see the biggest drop in savings from 21% down to just 7%. That’s equivalent to $4,388 less in savings than they would have in 2020.
  • This is followed by the Czech Republic (-11% or $2,808), Italy (-9% or $2,705), Slovenia (-9% or $2,260) and Canada (-8% or $2,902). Australians will see the 10th biggest drop at 7% or $2,478.
  • Luxembourg (1%), Latvia (1%) and the Slovak Republic (2%) are projected to have the smallest drops.

How much do Americans actually say they’re putting away?

While the above are forecast figures from the OECD, Finder runs an ongoing quarterly survey of roughly 2,000 American adults as part of Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Index and found that the average adult actually says they save roughly $462 every month, which is slightly higher than the forecast figure.

How are the sexes saving?

Men put away almost twice as much as women per month, with the average man saving they save $667 per month compared to just $282 for women.

Average savings by age

Contrary to what most people may assume it’s actually the youngest generation saving the most money. The average savings for Gen Z comes in at $857 per month, with Gen X putting the least away at $291.

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