United States Gross Savings

The United States’ gross savings rate has drifted downward from a post‑oil‑crisis high of 23.79 percent in 1973 to a historic low of 13.89 percent in 2009, before modestly rebounding to 17.27 percent in 2025, placing the country 114th globally. Over the 56‑year span from 1970, when the rate stood at 21.56 percent, the long‑term trajectory reflects a gradual erosion of domestic resource accumulation, a pattern shared by many advanced economies that experienced sharp declines during the global financial crisis. By contrast, peer nations such as Poland record a slightly higher savings share of 17.35 percent, while Belize lags at 17.04 percent, underscoring the United States’ position near the median of the distribution. The recent uptick suggests that higher household wealth accumulation and corporate profit retention are beginning to offset previous dis‑savings, but sustaining a higher savings rate will likely depend on policy measures that encourage personal retirement savings and reduce fiscal deficits, which could reshape the forward path.