$55K — based on the privacy-thresholded accepted-generation projection (2024 DOL Form 5500 filings).
The average 401(k) account balance reflects the typical participant-level savings inside U.S. defined-contribution plans. Calculated from every employer-sponsored retirement plan that files DOL Form 5500, this metric strips out outliers using median values to show what a typical participant actually has saved.
| State | Average Balance | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| DC | $87K | +58.2% |
| HI | $84K | +53.8% |
| IA | $80K | +46.6% |
| ND | $79K | +44.9% |
| CT | $77K | +39.8% |
| WI | $76K | +38.9% |
| MA | $74K | +35.6% |
| VT | $72K | +30.7% |
| MN | $71K | +30.3% |
| NE | $69K | +26.1% |
| AK | $69K | +26.1% |
| RI | $69K | +25.9% |
| NY | $68K | +25.1% |
| OH | $68K | +24.2% |
| KS | $68K | +24.0% |
| PA | $67K | +23.3% |
| WV | $66K | +21.2% |
| NJ | $66K | +20.5% |
| IL | $64K | +16.1% |
| VA | $63K | +14.7% |
| SD | $62K | +13.5% |
| MT | $62K | +13.2% |
| MO | $62K | +12.5% |
| MI | $61K | +11.2% |
| LA | $60K | +9.5% |
| MD | $60K | +9.4% |
| NH | $59K | +8.3% |
| MS | $58K | +6.4% |
| WA | $57K | +4.8% |
| KY | $57K | +3.3% |
| AL | $56K | +2.3% |
| IN | $56K | +2.0% |
| WY | $54K | -1.8% |
| AR | $53K | -3.7% |
| ME | $52K | -5.3% |
| OK | $51K | -6.0% |
| GA | $49K | -10.6% |
| OR | $49K | -10.6% |
| NC | $49K | -10.9% |
| NM | $48K | -12.8% |
| ID | $47K | -14.3% |
| SC | $47K | -14.8% |
| TN | $47K | -15.0% |
| TX | $45K | -17.5% |
| DE | $44K | -18.8% |
| UT | $42K | -23.2% |
| CA | $42K | -24.0% |
| FL | $41K | -25.7% |
| AZ | $38K | -30.9% |
| CO | $37K | -33.2% |
| NV | $36K | -33.8% |
| Industry | Average Balance | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | $145K | +165.7% |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | $133K | +142.9% |
| Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles | $105K | +92.3% |
| Pipeline Transportation | $105K | +92.2% |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | $93K | +69.5% |
| Water Transportation | $92K | +68.6% |
| Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | $88K | +60.1% |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers | $86K | +57.2% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | $82K | +49.2% |
| Insurance Carriers and Related Activities | $81K | +48.6% |
| Chemical Manufacturing | $80K | +45.5% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $77K | +40.0% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | $76K | +39.6% |
| Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing | $75K | +36.2% |
| Paper Manufacturing | $73K | +34.0% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $71K | +29.6% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods | $70K | +28.7% |
| Mining (except Oil and Gas) | $70K | +28.5% |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | $68K | +24.8% |
| Machinery Manufacturing | $68K | +24.6% |
| Telecommunications | $67K | +23.0% |
| Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing | $66K | +20.6% |
| NAICS 515 | $64K | +17.1% |
| Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services | $64K | +16.4% |
| Printing and Related Support Activities | $63K | +15.0% |
| Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry | $63K | +15.0% |
| Primary Metal Manufacturing | $62K | +12.7% |
| Real Estate | $61K | +12.2% |
| Utilities | $60K | +9.3% |
| Miscellaneous Manufacturing | $60K | +9.2% |
| Rail Transportation | $59K | +8.0% |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) | $59K | +8.0% |
| Air Transportation | $59K | +8.0% |
| Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing | $58K | +6.1% |
| Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction | $57K | +4.6% |
| Textile Product Mills | $57K | +4.0% |
| Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services | $56K | +2.8% |
| Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries | $55K | +1.2% |
| Hospitals | $55K | +1.0% |
| Forestry and Logging | $54K | -0.9% |
| Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers | $54K | -1.3% |
| Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations | $54K | -1.7% |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $54K | -1.8% |
| Construction of Buildings | $53K | -2.3% |
| Crop Production | $53K | -3.4% |
| NAICS 454 | $52K | -5.5% |
| NAICS 442 | $51K | -6.8% |
| Publishing Industries | $51K | -7.3% |
| Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | $50K | -8.3% |
| Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries | $49K | -9.8% |
| Wood Product Manufacturing | $49K | -9.8% |
| Support Activities for Mining | $47K | -14.5% |
| Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | $47K | -14.8% |
| Apparel Manufacturing | $46K | -15.3% |
| NAICS 443 | $46K | -15.8% |
| Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers | $46K | -16.6% |
| NAICS 446 | $44K | -18.7% |
| Textile Mills | $44K | -19.7% |
| Specialty Trade Contractors | $42K | -23.9% |
| Animal Production and Aquaculture | $40K | -26.5% |
| Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support | $40K | -27.8% |
| Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | $39K | -28.9% |
| Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation | $39K | -29.4% |
| Food Manufacturing | $36K | -33.5% |
| Fishing, Hunting and Trapping | $36K | -34.5% |
| Rental and Leasing Services | $35K | -36.5% |
| NAICS 448 | $33K | -39.2% |
| Warehousing and Storage | $33K | -39.6% |
| Repair and Maintenance | $33K | -40.1% |
| Support Activities for Transportation | $33K | -40.4% |
| Waste Management and Remediation Services | $31K | -43.2% |
| NAICS 453 | $30K | -45.4% |
| NAICS 447 | $28K | -48.1% |
| NAICS 451 | $28K | -48.2% |
| Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions | $28K | -48.5% |
| Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing | $26K | -52.3% |
| Administrative and Support Services | $26K | -52.8% |
| Truck Transportation | $24K | -55.5% |
| NAICS 452 | $24K | -56.0% |
| Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries | $22K | -59.9% |
| Educational Services | $20K | -63.5% |
| Food and Beverage Retailers | $19K | -64.4% |
| Personal and Laundry Services | $17K | -69.7% |
| Accommodation | $16K | -71.0% |
| Social Assistance | $14K | -74.2% |
| Nursing and Residential Care Facilities | $11K | -79.5% |
| Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation | $11K | -80.7% |
| Food Services and Drinking Places | $5,299 | -90.3% |
| Couriers and Messengers | $4,260 | -92.2% |
| Plan Size | Average Balance | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000+ participants · 403(b) | $98K | +78.9% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · 403(b) | $75K | +37.7% |
| 5,000+ participants · 401(k) | $69K | +26.1% |
| <100 participants · 403(b) | $63K | +15.9% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · 401(k) | $58K | +6.3% |
| 500–999 participants · 403(b) | $57K | +4.9% |
| <100 participants · 401(k) | $56K | +1.5% |
| 500–999 participants · 401(k) | $53K | -3.9% |
| 100–499 participants · 403(b) | $51K | -6.4% |
| 100–499 participants · 401(k) | $47K | -13.9% |
Source: U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Form 5500 dataset.
Why median, not arithmetic mean: Retirement plan data has extreme outliers; the median represents the middle plan in each cohort, giving a more accurate "typical" benchmark. We continue to use "average" in titles because that's the everyday term searchers use.