$62K — based on 885,810 U.S. retirement plans (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 |
|---|---|---|
| PR | $89K | +43.5% |
| HI | $85K | +36.5% |
| IA | $80K | +28.2% |
| CT | $78K | +26.4% |
| NJ | $76K | +21.6% |
| ND | $75K | +21.2% |
| WI | $75K | +21.1% |
| NY | $75K | +20.8% |
| MA | $74K | +19.8% |
| DC | $74K | +19.2% |
| NE | $71K | +14.3% |
| MN | $70K | +12.3% |
| OH | $70K | +12.2% |
| PA | $69K | +11.8% |
| KS | $68K | +9.7% |
| WV | $68K | +9.2% |
| IL | $68K | +9.0% |
| RI | $68K | +8.9% |
| MO | $66K | +5.9% |
| MI | $65K | +5.4% |
| VT | $65K | +4.9% |
| MS | $65K | +4.5% |
| AK | $65K | +4.5% |
| LA | $64K | +3.2% |
| VA | $63K | +1.4% |
| NH | $63K | +1.0% |
| MD | $62K | +0.6% |
| SD | $62K | 0.0% |
| KY | $61K | -1.0% |
| AL | $61K | -2.0% |
| MT | $60K | -3.2% |
| IN | $59K | -4.3% |
| WY | $57K | -8.1% |
| AR | $57K | -8.3% |
| OK | $56K | -9.6% |
| WA | $55K | -11.3% |
| GA | $53K | -13.9% |
| NC | $52K | -16.3% |
| ME | $52K | -16.3% |
| TN | $51K | -18.0% |
| SC | $50K | -19.1% |
| TX | $50K | -19.2% |
| NM | $50K | -19.5% |
| ID | $49K | -20.6% |
| OR | $49K | -21.5% |
| CA | $48K | -22.9% |
| UT | $47K | -24.9% |
| FL | $46K | -26.7% |
| AZ | $45K | -28.2% |
| DE | $43K | -30.7% |
| VI | $40K | -35.1% |
| NV | $40K | -35.6% |
| CO | $38K | -39.6% |
| GU | $24K | -61.9% |
| MP | $13K | -79.6% |
| Industry | Average Balance | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | $137K | +121.3% |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | $136K | +119.5% |
| Pipeline Transportation | $123K | +98.2% |
| Water Transportation | $111K | +78.8% |
| Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles | $106K | +70.5% |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers | $92K | +47.8% |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | $89K | +43.8% |
| Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | $86K | +38.3% |
| Chemical Manufacturing | $86K | +37.8% |
| Insurance Carriers and Related Activities | $85K | +37.1% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | $83K | +33.4% |
| Paper Manufacturing | $83K | +32.9% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | $81K | +30.4% |
| Mining (except Oil and Gas) | $79K | +27.2% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods | $78K | +25.9% |
| Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing | $78K | +25.7% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $76K | +22.7% |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | $75K | +20.6% |
| Machinery Manufacturing | $73K | +17.4% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $73K | +17.3% |
| NAICS 515 | $72K | +15.8% |
| Printing and Related Support Activities | $71K | +14.1% |
| Primary Metal Manufacturing | $71K | +14.0% |
| Real Estate | $70K | +12.3% |
| Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries | $69K | +11.9% |
| Rail Transportation | $69K | +10.5% |
| Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction | $68K | +9.0% |
| Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry | $67K | +7.9% |
| Hospitals | $67K | +7.7% |
| Telecommunications | $66K | +6.7% |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $66K | +6.2% |
| Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing | $65K | +5.0% |
| Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers | $65K | +4.0% |
| Utilities | $64K | +3.5% |
| Crop Production | $64K | +3.0% |
| Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing | $64K | +2.9% |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) | $63K | +1.7% |
| NAICS 442 | $63K | +1.2% |
| Air Transportation | $63K | +1.2% |
| Forestry and Logging | $63K | +0.8% |
| Miscellaneous Manufacturing | $62K | -0.1% |
| Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | $61K | -1.6% |
| Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries | $61K | -2.1% |
| Construction of Buildings | $61K | -2.5% |
| Wood Product Manufacturing | $59K | -4.3% |
| Textile Product Mills | $59K | -5.0% |
| Support Activities for Mining | $56K | -10.1% |
| Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers | $55K | -11.0% |
| Apparel Manufacturing | $55K | -11.3% |
| Fishing, Hunting and Trapping | $53K | -14.5% |
| Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | $53K | -14.8% |
| NAICS 446 | $52K | -16.2% |
| Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations | $51K | -18.1% |
| Specialty Trade Contractors | $51K | -18.3% |
| NAICS 443 | $50K | -18.9% |
| Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services | $50K | -19.1% |
| Animal Production and Aquaculture | $50K | -19.2% |
| Textile Mills | $50K | -19.2% |
| NAICS 454 | $50K | -20.2% |
| Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services | $48K | -21.9% |
| Food Manufacturing | $47K | -24.7% |
| Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | $45K | -27.1% |
| NAICS 447 | $45K | -28.1% |
| Publishing Industries | $45K | -28.2% |
| Waste Management and Remediation Services | $43K | -30.4% |
| Rental and Leasing Services | $42K | -31.6% |
| NAICS 448 | $42K | -31.8% |
| Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation | $42K | -32.3% |
| Repair and Maintenance | $41K | -34.6% |
| Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions | $40K | -34.8% |
| Warehousing and Storage | $39K | -36.6% |
| Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support | $39K | -37.9% |
| NAICS 451 | $39K | -38.0% |
| Support Activities for Transportation | $37K | -39.8% |
| NAICS 453 | $37K | -41.0% |
| Educational Services | $36K | -41.5% |
| Administrative and Support Services | $33K | -46.7% |
| Truck Transportation | $33K | -46.8% |
| Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing | $32K | -47.7% |
| Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries | $32K | -47.8% |
| NAICS 452 | $32K | -48.7% |
| Food and Beverage Retailers | $30K | -51.0% |
| Accommodation | $24K | -60.8% |
| Social Assistance | $20K | -67.5% |
| Nursing and Residential Care Facilities | $20K | -67.8% |
| Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation | $16K | -74.6% |
| Personal and Laundry Services | $15K | -76.2% |
| Food Services and Drinking Places | $11K | -82.3% |
| Couriers and Messengers | $4,760 | -92.3% |
| Plan Size | Average Balance | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| 100–499 participants · DB | $277K | +345.4% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · DB | $276K | +344.7% |
| 500–999 participants · DB | $262K | +321.6% |
| 5,000+ participants · DB | $195K | +214.9% |
| <100 participants · DB | $164K | +164.4% |
| 5,000+ participants · 403(b) | $98K | +57.3% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · 403(b) | $80K | +28.8% |
| <100 participants · DC | $76K | +22.0% |
| 5,000+ participants · 401(k) | $74K | +18.7% |
| 100–499 participants · 403(b) | $71K | +13.8% |
| 100–499 participants · DC | $68K | +8.8% |
| 500–999 participants · 403(b) | $67K | +8.1% |
| 100–499 participants · 401(k) | $64K | +2.5% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · DC | $63K | +2.0% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · 401(k) | $60K | -2.6% |
| 500–999 participants · DC | $60K | -3.5% |
| 500–999 participants · 401(k) | $57K | -8.9% |
| 5,000+ participants · DC | $50K | -18.9% |
| <100 participants · 403(b) | $50K | -19.6% |
| <100 participants · 401(k) | $50K | -19.8% |
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.