$2,253 — based on the privacy-thresholded accepted-generation projection (2024 DOL Form 5500 filings).
Average employer 401(k) contribution measures the dollars contributed by sponsoring employers — match plus profit-sharing — per active plan year. Median values from DOL Form 5500 filings strip out outliers from a small number of unusually generous plans.
| State | Avg Employer Contribution | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| DC | $4,399 | +95.3% |
| AK | $2,720 | +20.7% |
| MA | $2,700 | +19.9% |
| HI | $2,599 | +15.4% |
| CT | $2,593 | +15.1% |
| NY | $2,579 | +14.5% |
| VA | $2,505 | +11.2% |
| MD | $2,472 | +9.8% |
| WA | $2,444 | +8.5% |
| DE | $2,420 | +7.4% |
| NJ | $2,386 | +5.9% |
| CA | $2,381 | +5.7% |
| NH | $2,375 | +5.4% |
| IL | $2,373 | +5.4% |
| MN | $2,359 | +4.7% |
| MT | $2,351 | +4.4% |
| ND | $2,343 | +4.0% |
| VT | $2,311 | +2.6% |
| RI | $2,301 | +2.2% |
| SD | $2,289 | +1.6% |
| WY | $2,256 | +0.2% |
| CO | $2,235 | -0.8% |
| IA | $2,226 | -1.2% |
| PA | $2,217 | -1.6% |
| OR | $2,210 | -1.9% |
| TX | $2,197 | -2.5% |
| MO | $2,174 | -3.5% |
| WI | $2,172 | -3.6% |
| KS | $2,171 | -3.6% |
| NE | $2,153 | -4.4% |
| NM | $2,125 | -5.6% |
| GA | $2,123 | -5.8% |
| NV | $2,122 | -5.8% |
| OH | $2,117 | -6.0% |
| NC | $2,095 | -7.0% |
| TN | $2,074 | -7.9% |
| MI | $2,068 | -8.2% |
| ME | $2,057 | -8.7% |
| FL | $2,031 | -9.8% |
| AL | $1,999 | -11.2% |
| WV | $1,997 | -11.3% |
| IN | $1,995 | -11.4% |
| SC | $1,989 | -11.7% |
| LA | $1,983 | -12.0% |
| KY | $1,950 | -13.4% |
| AZ | $1,948 | -13.5% |
| OK | $1,942 | -13.8% |
| AR | $1,934 | -14.1% |
| ID | $1,925 | -14.6% |
| UT | $1,900 | -15.6% |
| MS | $1,883 | -16.4% |
| Industry | Avg Employer Contribution | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | $5,740 | +154.8% |
| Pipeline Transportation | $5,273 | +134.1% |
| Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles | $4,685 | +108.0% |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | $4,190 | +86.0% |
| Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services | $3,263 | +44.9% |
| Water Transportation | $3,182 | +41.3% |
| Utilities | $3,155 | +40.1% |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers | $3,129 | +38.9% |
| Publishing Industries | $3,101 | +37.7% |
| Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations | $3,050 | +35.4% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $3,034 | +34.7% |
| Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services | $3,023 | +34.2% |
| Chemical Manufacturing | $2,986 | +32.6% |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | $2,863 | +27.1% |
| Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries | $2,846 | +26.4% |
| Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support | $2,760 | +22.5% |
| Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries | $2,704 | +20.1% |
| Insurance Carriers and Related Activities | $2,653 | +17.8% |
| Mining (except Oil and Gas) | $2,620 | +16.3% |
| Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | $2,611 | +15.9% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | $2,596 | +15.2% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $2,577 | +14.4% |
| Telecommunications | $2,545 | +13.0% |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) | $2,522 | +12.0% |
| Air Transportation | $2,520 | +11.9% |
| Support Activities for Mining | $2,437 | +8.2% |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $2,426 | +7.7% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | $2,396 | +6.4% |
| Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction | $2,372 | +5.3% |
| Construction of Buildings | $2,333 | +3.6% |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods | $2,330 | +3.4% |
| Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing | $2,245 | -0.4% |
| Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry | $2,211 | -1.9% |
| Real Estate | $2,187 | -2.9% |
| Machinery Manufacturing | $2,095 | -7.0% |
| Rail Transportation | $2,089 | -7.3% |
| NAICS 454 | $2,042 | -9.4% |
| Miscellaneous Manufacturing | $2,019 | -10.4% |
| NAICS 515 | $2,014 | -10.6% |
| Specialty Trade Contractors | $1,960 | -13.0% |
| Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing | $1,954 | -13.2% |
| Hospitals | $1,936 | -14.0% |
| Fishing, Hunting and Trapping | $1,928 | -14.4% |
| Paper Manufacturing | $1,857 | -17.5% |
| Support Activities for Transportation | $1,844 | -18.2% |
| Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | $1,841 | -18.3% |
| Primary Metal Manufacturing | $1,840 | -18.3% |
| Rental and Leasing Services | $1,807 | -19.8% |
| Crop Production | $1,806 | -19.8% |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | $1,782 | -20.9% |
| Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | $1,777 | -21.1% |
| NAICS 442 | $1,759 | -21.9% |
| NAICS 443 | $1,755 | -22.1% |
| Forestry and Logging | $1,723 | -23.5% |
| Repair and Maintenance | $1,713 | -24.0% |
| NAICS 446 | $1,680 | -25.4% |
| Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers | $1,677 | -25.6% |
| Waste Management and Remediation Services | $1,665 | -26.1% |
| Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing | $1,660 | -26.3% |
| NAICS 448 | $1,607 | -28.6% |
| Textile Product Mills | $1,606 | -28.7% |
| Apparel Manufacturing | $1,569 | -30.4% |
| Food Manufacturing | $1,565 | -30.5% |
| Animal Production and Aquaculture | $1,534 | -31.9% |
| Administrative and Support Services | $1,533 | -31.9% |
| Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing | $1,528 | -32.2% |
| Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | $1,522 | -32.4% |
| Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions | $1,513 | -32.8% |
| Printing and Related Support Activities | $1,510 | -33.0% |
| Warehousing and Storage | $1,460 | -35.2% |
| Wood Product Manufacturing | $1,455 | -35.4% |
| Textile Mills | $1,441 | -36.0% |
| NAICS 453 | $1,431 | -36.5% |
| Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation | $1,407 | -37.5% |
| Educational Services | $1,393 | -38.1% |
| Personal and Laundry Services | $1,385 | -38.5% |
| NAICS 451 | $1,319 | -41.5% |
| Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers | $1,232 | -45.3% |
| Truck Transportation | $1,221 | -45.8% |
| Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries | $1,094 | -51.4% |
| NAICS 447 | $1,070 | -52.5% |
| NAICS 452 | $1,050 | -53.4% |
| Social Assistance | $1,049 | -53.4% |
| Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation | $857 | -61.9% |
| Food and Beverage Retailers | $840 | -62.7% |
| Accommodation | $769 | -65.8% |
| Nursing and Residential Care Facilities | $621 | -72.4% |
| Couriers and Messengers | $606 | -73.1% |
| Food Services and Drinking Places | $548 | -75.7% |
| Plan Size | Avg Employer Contribution | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000+ participants · 403(b) | $2,573 | +14.2% |
| <100 participants · 403(b) | $2,378 | +5.6% |
| <100 participants · 401(k) | $2,316 | +2.8% |
| 5,000+ participants · 401(k) | $2,040 | -9.4% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · 401(k) | $1,917 | -14.9% |
| 1,000–4,999 participants · 403(b) | $1,893 | -16.0% |
| 500–999 participants · 401(k) | $1,752 | -22.2% |
| 100–499 participants · 401(k) | $1,672 | -25.8% |
| 100–499 participants · 403(b) | $1,670 | -25.9% |
| 500–999 participants · 403(b) | $1,646 | -26.9% |
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.