Studies and Data Analysis
This data hub brings together NerdWallet’s studies and unique analyses of proprietary and third party data across personal finance and economic topics. Our team of writers, experts and analysts design nationally representative surveys and robust methodologies to gain insight into household finances. These resources are available for use by traditional and online media, influencers and consumers.
In the spotlight
2025 Savings Report
A recent study by Erin El Issa finds that working Americans claim to save 23% of their pay each month, on average.
The data indicated:
Employed Americans report saving 23% of their take-home pay, on average, in a bank account in a typical month. But nearly a quarter of employed Americans (23%) aren’t sure how much they’re saving, and 10% aren’t regularly saving anything.
A majority of Americans (86%) have savings accounts. The most popular approach among them is transferring money from checking to savings accounts at random intervals as they have extra money (43%).
Most Americans (82%) are actively saving in a bank account for a future expense, like an emergency fund (46%) or vacations (33%).
“Our data indicate that some Americans are, for the most part, diligent savers — but in many cases, there’s room for improvement in how and why they save,” says Sam Taube, an investing writer and spokesperson for NerdWallet.
Read the report and see more of the data, here.
The latest
Recent economic commentary

Elizabeth Renter, Senior Economist
"Recent updates to tariff negotiations suggest that the risk to inflation is less dramatic than we anticipated just last week. Lower broadbased tariffs are still likely to cause a bump in inflation, but that increase is less likely to be sustained...That said, nothing is currently certain. If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that the state of play can change rapidly. Across the economy (and even at the Fed) there is likely an understandable reluctance to make big decisions."
May 13, 2025
Elizabeth Renter is available for media interviews, discussing economic and data topics. Contact [email protected].
The latest columns from Elizabeth Renter
Trending chart
NerdWallet Senior Economist Elizabeth Renter recently examined unemployment among recent college graduates. Historically, the jobless rate of recent grads has been lower than the “all workers” rate, but began to change around 2018, and since 2022 those rates have diverged further. Read about it here.
Studies and data resources by topic
Credit cards
Money
Banking
Investing
Mortgages
Travel
Loans
Insurance
Small and medium-sized businesses
Our standards
All of our data projects go through a rigorous process before publication. During the planning stage, editors, data writers and analysts, subject matter experts and communications specialists share perspectives and ask tough questions of all potential ideas. We use data from only the most reputable sources, and our methodologies and calculations are all checked and rechecked for sound rationale and accuracy. Our data-driven work also goes through a minimum of three rounds of editing before publication.
Our nationally representative surveys are conducted in collaboration with The Harris Poll. We've been working with The Harris Poll since 2014 to field statistically sound and robust surveys weighted to be representative within age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, household income, education, employment, marital status and size of household where necessary to align with their actual proportions in the population.
Media inquiries
For questions, including requests for data or interviews with our analyst and experts, please contact [email protected].