Here's the Average Savings Account Balance for Middle-Class Americans

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Having money in a savings account is important. Those are funds you can use for big purchases so you don't have to finance them. It's also money that's there for emergencies so you aren't forced to reach for the credit cards if something goes wrong.

So how much money does the typical middle-class American have saved? Let's take a look at how we're doing when it comes to account balances.

This is how much middle-class Americans have saved

There are different ways to measure who is in the middle class. One of the best is by net worth. Net worth is your assets minus your liabilities. Americans in the 50th to 75th percentile of net worth would generally be considered middle class, as class groups are typically divided into quintiles.

Based on research conducted by The Motley Fool Ascent, Americans with a net worth in the 50th to 75th percentile have a median savings balance of $13,000. This is far below the $128,000 in median savings of Americans with a net worth in the top 10th percentile, but far above the $1,000 median balance among those in the bottom 25th percentile of net worth.

How much savings should you have?

Seeing how much money the middle class has in savings is interesting. If your own savings balance is way behind that of the typical family, this could be a sign that you aren't prioritizing savings enough. Ultimately, the amount you should have saved depends on your goals and your needs.

It's a good rule of thumb to keep money in a high-yield savings account if you're likely to need the funds within the next couple of years. If you're buying a house next year, for example, you'd want to save your home down payment fund in a savings account. You wouldn't want to invest it and risk losing it.

You should also keep your emergency fund in savings. Otherwise, you could find yourself needing to sell invested funds at a bad time when an unexpected expense comes up. You'll typically want an emergency fund big enough to cover three to six months' worth of living expenses to protect against unexpected calamities.

If you look at how much you need for emergencies and make a list of short-term goals and the money you'll need to accomplish them, this will give you a benchmark for what amount of money belongs in your savings account. Depending on your situation, this could be more or less than the $13,000 that average Americans have in their accounts.

You also shouldn't forget about certificates of deposit (CDs) , which are an alternative to a classic savings account. These have limited risk since they're FDIC-insured, but you do have to commit to leaving your money invested for a set time to avoid penalties. CDs are right for you only if you can tie up your money for a period of time lasting anywhere from a few months to five years (the customary CD term lengths).

The bottom line is, you don't want too much or too little in savings, so figure out the right amount for you. Whether that's more or less than the average balance doesn't matter, since your finances may not be average.

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