Personal savings as a percentage of disposable income in the U.S. 1960-2023

In 2023, personal savings amounted to 4.51 percent of the disposable income in the United States. The personal savings rate peaked in 2020, when U.S. households saved on average over 15 percent of their income. That year and in 2021, there were measures implemented to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus which limited the ability of people to go out and spend their money, which resulted in people saving more than usual.

Savings during recessions

During recessions, households often tend to increase their savings due to economic uncertainty and to compensate for any possible loss of income, which could occur, for example, in the case of falling into unemployment. For example, as seen in this statistic, the savings rate increased noticeably between 2007 and 2012, coinciding with a period of crisis. However, there are also factors that affect the amount of money that households can manage to set aside, such as inflation. Saving can be particularly difficult during periods when the inflation rate has been higher than the growth rates of wages.

Savings accounts

The value of savings deposits and other checkable deposits in the U.S. amounted to roughly 11 trillion U.S. dollars in late 2023, even after a significant fall in the amount of money placed in those types of instruments. In other words, savings accounts are a type of financial asset that is very widely used among households to save money. Nevertheless, interest rates of savings’ accounts differ a lot from one financial institution to another. Some of the lesser-known online banks had the highest interest rates, while the major banks often offered lower interest rates.