Saving for retirement is one of the most important things you can do with your money. Social Security only replaces around 40% of your pre-retirement income, and since a 60% cut in income means you won't be able to sustain your lifestyle, you need to have money in a retirement account to supplement your benefits.
Many people opt to save money in a 401(k) to help secure their future, because it can be simple and easy to contribute to this workplace retirement account. However, figuring out how much should be in your 401(k) can be tricky. You'll need to make this decision based on your personal data and goals: how much you earn, the amount you have saved already, the amount you want to spend as a retiree, and a whole host of other factors.
While setting retirement goals should be an individual decision, it can be helpful to compare your account balance with others to see if you're ahead or behind in your savings efforts. This is especially true if you compare yourself to people with incomes similar to your own, since people within the same income bracket will generally be targeting similar nest-egg amounts.
So, to give you a glimpse into how you're doing on your retirement saving efforts, let's take a look at how your 401(k) balance compares to those of others who are making a similar amount of money.
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Here's how your 401(k) balance compares to other people in your income range
The 2025 Vanguard "How America Saves" report provides a lot of insight into how much people are saving for their futures. This includes average and median 401(k) balances for people in different income groups.
To see how your 401(k) compares to other people with earnings similar to yours, based on Vanguard's data, check out the table below.
| Income Range | Average 401(k) Balance | Median 401(k) Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Under $15,000 | $25,716 | $4,055 |
| $15,000 to $29,999 | $19,858 | $6,475 |
| $30,000 to $49,999 | $27,278 | $10,928 |
| $50,000 to $74,999 | $62,618 | $27,528 |
| $75,000 to $99,999 | $109,770 | $53,112 |
| $100,000 to $149,999 | $188,329 | $98,434 |
| $150,000+ | $377,488 | $221,220 |
Data source: Vanguard's "How America Saves 2025" report.
It's not surprising that higher earners have both higher median and higher average balances. However, it may be a bit of a surprise how low the median balances are.
It's worth remembering that people of all ages within these income brackets are included in the data, so younger workers may be dragging down these numbers. Still, a 401(k) with $221,220 in it would only produce around $8,850 per year in income, assuming you follow the 4% rule. That is a very long way from the amount someone earning $150,000 per year or more would need to have to maintain their lifestyle in retirement.
What can you do to increase your 401(k) balance?
If you're behind others in your income bracket who have a higher 401(k), don't panic. Those other individuals may be older, or may be saving more aggressively because they want to achieve early retirement.
Of course, seeing yourself behind can help to motivate you, but the reality is that you need to set a personalized goal and stick to it regardless of what others in your income range are doing.
A quick and simple rule of thumb says you'll need 10 times your final salary when you retire. If you keep this in mind, you can figure out what your own retirement goal should be and can start focusing on investing to achieve it. If you do this, you'll likely end up with more than the average 401(k) balance for others in your income range. But more importantly, you'll also have the money you need for a comfortable future.
