How Does Your Money Compare?

National government data side-by-side with real-time community averages from thousands of FinCalcs calculations. See where you stand.

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These benchmarks update in real-time from our calculator community. Run any calculator to contribute your anonymous data point and see how you compare. Start with our most popular tools:
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Methodology & Sources — 10 government & institutional sources

Methodology & Sources

Every number on this page is sourced from official U.S. government agencies and established research institutions. Here is exactly where each data point comes from:

Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF)

The most comprehensive dataset on American household finances. Provides our savings, retirement, debt, net worth, and income benchmarks. Published triennially — current data from 2022, next release expected 2025. Covers 6,200+ families with detailed wealth, income, and debt breakdowns.

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)

Our live interest rate data source. We pull 16 FRED series weekly via API, including 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates (Freddie Mac PMMS), federal funds rate, 10-year Treasury yield, credit card rates, and median home prices. Auto-updated every Monday via GitHub Actions.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

All tax brackets, standard deduction amounts, IRA/401(k) contribution limits, capital gains thresholds, and EITC tables come directly from IRS Revenue Procedures and Statistics of Income publications. Updated annually when the IRS releases new tax year parameters.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Provides income and employment data including median weekly earnings by occupation, Consumer Price Index (CPI) for inflation adjustments, Consumer Expenditure Survey for household spending patterns, and regional cost-of-living data through Regional Price Parities.

U.S. Census Bureau

Household income data, poverty thresholds, and demographic breakdowns from the American Community Survey (ACS) and Current Population Survey (CPS). Used in our income benchmarks and cost-of-living comparisons across metropolitan areas.

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)

Employer Health Benefits Survey provides our healthcare benchmark data — average premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket costs, and employer contribution levels. Published annually. Also used for ACA marketplace and COBRA cost comparisons.

National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Median home price data, housing affordability indices, and first-time buyer statistics. Used in our mortgage affordability calculators and housing benchmarks. Published monthly with regional breakdowns.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Benefit calculation formulas, full retirement age tables, spousal and survivor benefit rules, COLA adjustments, and earnings test thresholds. Used in our Social Security calculators and retirement planning tools.

Experian Consumer Debt Study

Average consumer debt balances by type (credit card, auto, student loan, personal loan, mortgage) and by state. Used in our debt benchmarks and credit utilization comparisons. Published annually.

Vanguard & Fidelity Retirement Reports

Vanguard's "How America Saves" and Fidelity's quarterly retirement analysis provide 401(k) balance data by age, contribution rates, and asset allocation patterns. Used for retirement savings benchmarks. Published annually (Vanguard) and quarterly (Fidelity).

FinCalcs community benchmarks are computed from anonymized, aggregated calculator inputs across fincalcs.co. No personally identifiable information is collected — only numeric values (loan amounts, savings targets, salary figures) are aggregated. Community averages tend to skew higher than national medians because FinCalcs users are actively managing their finances, which self-selects for higher financial engagement. Use national data as the baseline and community data as the engaged-saver benchmark.

Directional arrows on national data show change from the prior data release (e.g., 2022 vs 2019 for SCF data). Arrows on community data show change from the prior weekly snapshot. Green arrows indicate favorable movement, red indicates unfavorable, gray is neutral.

Benchmarks are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. Individual circumstances vary. All data sourced from publicly available government and institutional publications. Full Disclaimer · About FinCalcs Write for Us