Definition
The personal saving rate is the percentage of households’ after-tax income that is left over after they pay for everything they consume. It is published monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the Personal Income and Outlays report. A high rate means households are cautious or flush with cash; a low rate means they are spending almost all they earn, which supports growth today but leaves less of a cushion.
How it works
Saving rate = personal saving ÷ disposable personal income × 100
Disposable personal income is all household income – wages, business income, interest, dividends, rents and government benefits – minus personal taxes. Personal saving is what remains after subtracting personal outlays: consumer spending, interest on non-mortgage debt and transfers. Capital gains on stocks or homes are not income in this calculation, so rising asset prices can make people feel richer while the measured saving rate falls.
Example
A household takes home $6,000 a month after taxes, spends $5,400 on rent, food, car payments and everything else, and pays $100 in credit-card interest. It saves $500, a saving rate of about 8.3%. If a one-time $2,400 government payment arrives in a month when spending stays the same, that month’s income is $8,400, saving is $2,900 and the rate jumps to about 34.5% – which is exactly what happened nationally in April 2020.
Personal saving rate in history
Readings at turning points, taken from the same data as the chart above.
| Date | Saving rate | What was happening |
|---|---|---|
| May 1975 | 17.3% | Tax rebates from the Tax Reduction Act of 1975 arrive. |
| Jan 1982 | 12.6% | High interest rates reward saving. |
| Jan 1999 | 6.1% | Stock-market boom: households save less as wealth rises. |
| Jul 2005 | 1.4% | Record low during the housing boom. |
| Dec 2012 | 10.9% | Spike as income was pulled forward ahead of 2013 tax increases. |
| Apr 2020 | 31.8% | Record high: stimulus checks arrive while lockdowns shut stores. |
| Jun 2022 | 2.4% | Low again as inflation outpaced incomes. |
| Sep 2026 | 3.8% | Latest reading. |
Monthly values. Explore every month on the Personal Saving Rate chart.
Common mistakes
- “A low saving rate means people have no savings.” It measures the flow from current income, not the stock of wealth. Households can have large savings balances while saving little of this month’s income.
- Ignoring revisions The saving rate is a small difference between two large numbers, so revisions to income or spending can move it by a point or more.
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Personal saving rate: questions and answers
What is a normal personal saving rate?
It averaged around 10% to 12% from the 1960s to the early 1980s, then trended down, and since the late 1990s has mostly stayed between about 2% and 9%, apart from the pandemic years.
Does the saving rate include retirement contributions?
Yes. Contributions to 401(k)s and IRAs are part of personal saving, since they are income that is not spent.