Press and media
FinExplained publishes free, tested personal-finance calculators and original data studies built from primary sources. Everything on this page is reusable under the terms below: quotable statistics with source lines, downloadable datasets, and embeddable charts. For anything else, email hello@finexplained.com.
Who runs the site
Sam Sage is an individual investor with more than 20 years of hands-on experience, managing a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio and running an options wheel strategy of cash-secured puts and covered calls. Sam Sage is not a licensed financial advisor; FinExplained is educational content, not personalized advice.
Sam Sage writes and is accountable for this site. More on the identity model, the mission, and how the math is verified is on the about page and how we verify. Written quotes may be attributed to "Sam Sage, FinExplained".
The data studies
Original analyses of government surveys and published provider research, with every figure pinned to its source, labeled with its data year, and checked by automated integrity tests before publishing. The studies hub lists them all with sources, data years, and downloads:
- How Much Money You Need to Reach FIRE in America's Largest Metro Areas (2026)
- Average and Median 401(k) Balance by Age: How Do You Compare? (2026 Data)
- Average and Median Net Worth by Age: How Do You Compare?
- Average and Median Retirement Savings by Age: How Do You Compare?
- Net Worth Percentile by Age: Where Do You Rank?
Quotable statistics
Quote these as written, with attribution to FinExplained and a link to the study. Each study page carries more in its own copyable-findings block, and every figure there states its lens, source, and data year.
The average 401(k) balance at year-end 2025 was $167,970 among participants in Vanguard-administered plans, but the median was just $44,115.
The median US household net worth was $192,900 in 2022 while the average was $1,063,700, because a small group of very wealthy households pulls the average up.
Among households that have retirement accounts, the median balance for ages 55 to 64 is $185,000. Across all households aged 55 to 59, including those with nothing saved, the median is $24,000. Both numbers come from the 2022 Federal Reserve SCF; the difference is who gets counted.
San Jose needs only about 11.73 times its median household income to reach a 4 percent FIRE number, the smallest multiple of the 75 largest US metros; McAllen needs 26.5 times, the widest.
Reuse, data, and attribution
- Datasets: every study table downloads as a CSV licensed CC BY 4.0. Reuse it freely with attribution to FinExplained and a link; the underlying figures remain credited to their primary sources, as each file's header states.
- Charts and tables: each study's lead chart and main table are embeddable as auto-sizing iframes that carry the source line and an attribution link built in. Embed previews and snippets are linked from the studies hub.
- Quotes: use the statistics above or a study's copyable-findings block as written, attributed to FinExplained with a link to the study page.
- Corrections: if you find an error, email us; the corrections policy explains how fixes are recorded in the public changelog.
Contact
Email hello@finexplained.com with data questions or anything this page does not cover; questions are answered in writing. FinExplained content is educational, not financial advice, and that framing carries into any quote or reuse.