The US Personal Savings Rate
The US Personal Savings Rate measures the percentage of disposable personal income that Americans save rather than spend. Published monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), it is a critical gauge of consumer financial health, future spending capacity, and the sustainability of consumption-driven GDP growth (consumer spending accounts for ~70% of US GDP).
Dataset: US Personal Savings Rate (1959–2026) · Updated 2026-02-01
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Source: FRED series PSAVERT · Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Macro Takeaway
The savings rate underwent the most dramatic swing in its history during 2020–2023. Pandemic stimulus checks and lockdown-restricted spending pushed the rate to 33.8% in April 2020 — the highest reading ever recorded — creating approximately $2.3 trillion in “excess savings.” By mid-2023, the rate had fallen below 4%, well under the pre-pandemic average of 7%, as consumers drew down those savings to sustain spending amid inflation.
The secular decline from 10–12% (1960s–1980s) to 3–5% (2005–2019) reflects a structural shift: rising asset values (housing, equities) substituted for traditional savings, while credit availability expanded. This makes the economy more vulnerable to asset price declines — when the “wealth effect” reverses, there is no savings buffer to sustain consumption. The savings rate is the inverse of the consumer confidence indicator — when it spikes, it signals fear; when it collapses, it signals either confidence or desperation.
Dataset Overview
| Indicator | US Personal Savings Rate |
|---|---|
| Geography | United States |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Period | 1959–2026 |
| Variables | date, savings_rate |
| Format | CSV, Excel (XLSX) |
| Sources | FRED series PSAVERT — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis |
| Last updated | — |
Dataset Variables
The CSV and Excel files contain the following columns.
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
date | Date | Observation date |
savings_rate | Float | US personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income — the share of after-tax income that households do not spend. |
Column names match the CSV headers exactly.
Download the Complete Dataset
The full dataset is available in CSV and Excel formats.
FRED Direct CSV Access
The raw data is available via FRED under code PSAVERT:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.csv?id=PSAVERT
The Eco3min version provides a clean, analysis-ready format with consistent column names, pre-calculated derived metrics where applicable, and both CSV and Excel downloads.
Direct CSV Access — Eco3min Structured Dataset
https://eco3min.fr/dataset/us-personal-savings-rate.csv
This URL returns the complete dataset in CSV format. It can be used directly in pandas, R, curl, or any data tool.
Using the Dataset in Python
import pandas as pd
url = "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/us-personal-savings-rate.csv"
df = pd.read_csv(url)
print(df.head())
print(f"Latest value: {df['savings_rate'].iloc[-1]:.2f}")
Using the Dataset in R
library(readr) url <- "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/us-personal-savings-rate.csv" df <- read_csv(url) head(df) summary(df$savings_rate)
Both examples load the dataset directly from the URL — no download or API key required.
Historical Regimes
1959–1975 — Thrift era. The savings rate averaged 10–12%, reflecting post-Depression/WWII saving habits and limited consumer credit availability. Americans saved first, spent second.
1975–1985 — Inflation distortion. High inflation made saving in nominal terms unattractive, while real wages stagnated. The rate began its structural decline from 12% toward 8%.
1985–2005 — The great dissaving. Financial deregulation, credit card proliferation, home equity extraction, and the wealth effect from rising stock and housing prices drove the rate from 10% to 2%. Americans increasingly treated asset appreciation as a substitute for income saving.
2008–2012 — Crisis re-saving. The GFC triggered a sharp reversal: the rate jumped from 3% to 8% as households deleveraged and rebuilt balance sheets. This “paradox of thrift” deepened the recession but improved household balance sheets.
2020–2026 — Pandemic whiplash. The savings rate spiked to 33.8% (April 2020), the highest in history, as stimulus payments arrived while spending opportunities vanished. The subsequent drawdown of $2.3T in excess savings powered the 2021–2023 consumer spending boom despite inflation. By 2024, excess savings were largely exhausted.
Related Macroeconomic Datasets
- US Consumer Sentiment — Psychological complement — confidence vs. precautionary saving
- US Real Wage Growth — Income growth determines saving capacity
- US GDP Growth Rate — Consumer spending = 70% of GDP
- US Household Debt to GDP — Dissaving shows up as rising debt ratios
Related Research
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to the $2.3 trillion in excess pandemic savings?
The excess savings accumulated in 2020–2021 were gradually spent down over 2022–2023, primarily on services, travel, and durable goods. Most estimates suggest they were largely exhausted by Q3 2023. The savings rate then fell below its pre-pandemic average, suggesting consumers shifted from drawing down savings to relying on credit to sustain spending levels.
How do I download the US personal savings rate dataset as CSV?
You can download the complete dataset directly from this page in CSV or Excel format — no signup or API key needed. The CSV is also available as a direct URL (https://eco3min.fr/dataset/us-personal-savings-rate.csv) for use in Python, R, or any data tool.
Macroeconomic Dataset Hub
This dataset is part of the Eco3min macro-financial data repository. Explore all available datasets including inflation, interest rates, equity returns, credit spreads, and currency indicators.
Explore the Eco3min Dataset Hub
Sources
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — FRED series PSAVERT
Suggested Citation
Last updated — 13 April 2026