--- title: Why Your Bank Account Balance Is (Probably) the Lowest It's Been in 3 Years description: Stimulus checks and tax credits helped to keep many Americans afloat during the pandemic. With them now in the rearview, balances have sunk. authors: - name: Brenden Rearick role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/brenden-rearick/ bio: Brenden Rearick is a former reporter at Money who specialized in covering breaking news and enterprise stories about credit cards, real estate, investing, and personal finance trends. education: University of Pittsburgh, BA at_money_since: 2023 articles: 133 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology former_staff: true editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2023-07-19T18:58:42.000Z' modified: '2024-05-17T04:56:36.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - News word_count: 509 canonical: https://money.com/bank-account-balance-low-stimulus/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Couples looks over their finances together](https://img.money.com/2023/07/News-Bank-Balance-Lowest-3-Years.jpg) If you've noticed your [bank account](https://money.com/best-banks/) becoming a bit lighter lately, you're not alone: Many Americans' bank accounts are at their lowest in three years. And while post-pandemic ["revenge spending"](https://money.com/hotel-prices-up-2023-travel/) is certainly a real phenomenon, experts say the blame falls on another culprit. [Analysis](https://www.jpmorganchase.com/institute/research/household-income-spending/household-pulse-cash-balances-through-March-2023#finding-1) from JPMorgan Chase released this week says that the end of pandemic stimulus checks and tax credits are starting to become evident in consumers' [checking](https://money.com/best-checking-accounts/) and [savings accounts](https://money.com/best-savings-accounts/). This is exacerbated by the rise in [inflation](https://money.com/inflation-june-2023-rent-insurance/) since spring 2020. Analysts at financial services company JPMorgan Chase have found that the three Economic Impact Payments, or [stimulus checks](https://money.com/who-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report/), provided to help Americans stay afloat during the pandemic have run their course. Data shows that the average bank account balance as of March 2023 was just 10-15% elevated relative to the average bank account balance in 2019. This might not sound like such bad news, since balances are still higher than they used to be. However, when you consider that account balances in the first half of 2022 were 20-30% elevated over those 2019 levels, the data shows that this cushion is deflating. For reference, Americans in the top 25% of earners had an average balance of $10,700 in April 2022. Today, that balance has [dropped](https://money.com/savings-boom-over-inflation/) to roughly $9,000. For the bottom 25% of earners, balances have dropped from $1,400 to about $1,300. This dip in balance elevation is the lowest recorded by the company since April 2020. ## Power of pandemic stimulus wanes What's going on? Well, JPMorgan Chase argues with its data that the decline comes as a result of pandemic stimulus efforts fading away. The three [COVID-19 stimulus checks](https://money.com/when-third-stimulus-check-sent-out/) correlate with three distinct spikes in American bank balances across all income quartiles. So too does the expanded [child tax credit](https://money.com/child-tax-credit-sign-up-deadline/) period from 2021, when many American households received larger-than-normal payments to help them care for dependents. Since the end of these financial stimuli, JPMorgan Chase notes a flattening of bank account elevation. The report also chronicles the way this has affected Americans across ethnicity and race. It finds that Black and Hispanic households were among the biggest beneficiaries of these COVID-era stimulus programs; while their median account balances averaged lower than those for white and Asian households pre-pandemic, the percent changes in median balance for Black and Hispanic Americans were higher. And while the stimulus checks and [child tax credit](https://money.com/child-tax-credit-payments-saving-spending/) helped narrow the [wealth gap](https://money.com/wealth-gap-race-economic-justice/) between white Americans and people of color, the end of these programs saw Black and Hispanic consumers' balance elevations taper off faster. We can't forget [inflation](https://money.com/inflation-hitting-middle-class-hard/), either. The analysis was adjusted using Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to account for inflation and show real cash price trends. So while it might not be reflected in the report's figures, the company attributed some of the flattening-balance phenomenon to inflation, too. [Rejection Rates for Credit Cards, Auto Loans and More Hit Historically High Levels](https://money.com/credit-card-rejection-rates-high/) [7 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score Right Now](https://money.com/7-ways-to-improve-credit-score/) [The IRS Is Finally Cracking Down on Wealthy Taxpayers Skirting the Law](https://money.com/irs-crackdown-wealthy-taxpayers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/bank-account-balance-low-stimulus/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Why Your Bank Account Balance Is (Probably) the Lowest It's Been in 3 Years" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/bank-account-balance-low-stimulus/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/bank-account-balance-low-stimulus/", "name": "Why Your Bank Account Balance Is (Probably) the Lowest It's Been in 3 Years", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-07-19T18:58:42.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/bank-account-balance-low-stimulus/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/bank-account-balance-low-stimulus/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-17T04:56:36.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Why Your Bank Account Balance Is (Probably) the Lowest It's Been in 3 Years", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/07/News-Bank-Balance-Lowest-3-Years.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Bank-Balance-Lowest-3-Years" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brenden Rearick", "url": "https://money.com/author/brenden-rearick/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brenden-rearick/#author", "description": "Brenden Rearick is a former reporter at Money who specialized in covering breaking news and enterprise stories about credit cards, real estate, investing, and personal finance trends.\r\n\r\n", "email": "brenden.rearick@money.com", "alumniOf": "University of Pittsburgh, BA" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2023-07-19T18:58:42.000Z", "description": "Stimulus checks and tax credits helped to keep many Americans afloat during the pandemic. 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