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Do you worry that you’re falling behind financially? You’re not alone.
All told, 53% of U.S. adults feel behind where they expected to be financially, and 28% say they are falling “far behind,” according to a survey by Navigator (1). If you’re experiencing this kind of financial anxiety, it’s completely normal.
To get some perspective, it helps to compare yourself with peers in your age group. Younger workers haven’t had as much time to develop the skills or experience needed for higher pay, while older workers often have more time to climb the corporate ladder.
With that in mind, here’s the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on median earnings by age group (2) — along with ways to get ahead at every age.
Your 20s are the early stages of your career, so it’s no surprise that most workers in this age group earn less than their older counterparts.
According to BLS data from the third quarter of 2025, the median salary for workers aged 20 to 24 is about $41,392, while for those aged 25 to 34, the median is about $59,800.
In other words, if you earn more than $60,000 a year and were born in the 2000s, you are earning more than half of what your peers are pulling in.
But even if your salary is low at this point, you have one major advantage over older workers: time. Your 20s are the perfect decade to start saving, even just a little, since you have plenty of runway for even the most meager funds to compound into something substantial.
Preparing for the future all starts with building good saving and investing habits — and that’s where an app like Acorns can help.
With Acorns, you can automatically invest spare change from your everyday purchases into a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.
For instance, if you buy a donut for $3.25, Acorns will round up the purchase to $4 and invest the change in a smart investment portfolio. Before you’re done licking the sugar off your fingers, that 75-cent difference is now a commitment to your future.
Even better, you can get a $20 bonus investment if you sign up with a recurring monthly deposit to supercharge your savings.
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If you’re fortunate, your 30s are prime years for a career boost. You have enough experience to negotiate higher pay and still have plenty of energy to handle additional responsibilities.
That’s why economists expect steady pay growth during this stage. According to the Tax Foundation, this period represents the early ramp-up in the inverted U-curve of income across age groups (3). This is also when your paycheck typically starts expanding.
For workers aged 35 to 44, the median salary is $72,020, according to the BLS data. This is the highest median of any age cohort, making it the stage when many experience peak earnings.
However, the age of peak earnings is also when more costs creep in, such as the expenses associated with raising a family, a mortgage on a new home and payments on a car to transport you and your loved ones to work, school and play.
That makes your 30s a critical time to hone your budget and create savings goals for everything from vacation and summer camp to college tuition and retirement.
To keep track of it all, you can turn to an all-in-one money app like Monarch Money.
Monarch Money puts all your finances under one roof, from your banking statements to your investments. You can also add separate or joint accounts to your dashboard, which can be great for tracking grocery runs for couples or helping your child get used to big-picture financial planning as parents.
The app is also well reviewed: Forbes ranked Monarch Money as their best budgeting app for 2025, as did The Wall Street Journal.
And the best part? Monarch Money offers a seven-day free trial so you can see if it’s right for you. If you like what you see, you could then snag 50% off your first year with code WISE50.
For most people, their 40s are more about stability than growth. You may not have reached the top of your career ladder, but you’re hopefully approaching it.
The median annual salary for those aged 45 to 54 is $71,604, roughly the same as the previous cohort, according to the BLS data. Earning six figures at this age puts you well ahead of many peers.
Plus, if your income is below the median, there’s still time to catch up. You could focus on controlling expenses and saving aggressively, potentially putting yourself in a stronger position for retirement than higher-earning peers.
And once you build up enough wealth, it’s time to start meaningfully diversifying your investments. Spreading your money across different asset classes and sectors may provide more consistent returns and help you navigate market volatility.
To ensure you’re getting the most out of your investments and make sure you’re on track for retirement, it could pay to create a plan with a qualified financial advisor.
Research from Vanguard shows that working with a financial advisor can add about 3% to net returns over time (4). That difference can become substantial. For example, if you started with a $50,000 portfolio, professional guidance could mean more than $1.3 million in additional growth over 30 years, depending on market conditions and your investment strategy.
Finding the right advisor is now simpler than ever with Advisor.com, the platform that connects you with licensed financial professionals in your area who can provide personalized guidance.
Just enter a few details about your finances and goals, and Advisor.com’s AI-powered matching tool will connect you with a qualified expert best-suited for your needs based on your unique financial goals and preferences.
A professional advisor can also help you determine how many years you have left to invest before retirement and assess your comfort level with market fluctuations — two key factors in building the right asset mix for your portfolio.
Through Advisor.com, you can even schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your retirement goals and long-term financial plan.
While your 40s are typically about maintaining peak earnings, the data paints a clear picture for people in their 50s: This is often a period of declining earnings but peak wealth.
Many workers at this age are approaching retirement and considering reducing work hours. In fact, most millionaires in the U.S. reach seven-figure net worth in their 50s and 60s, according to Empower’s analysis of government data (5). This allows many older Americans to shift from active income to passive income.
For some, declining active income is more about health and energy limitations than a lack of personal assets. About 52% of retirees reported leaving work earlier than expected, usually for health reasons, according to Manulife John Hancock Retirement’s financial resilience and longevity survey (6).
This trend is also clearly reflected in the BLS income data. The median salary for those aged 55 to 64 is $68,744, only slightly higher than workers in their late 20s and early 30s. The decline is more noticeable for people 65 and older, with a median salary of $62,036.
In other words, if you’re in your late 50s or 60s and still working full time at peak earnings, you are likely earning more than half of what your peers are bringing in.
For most in this age bracket, however, this is a time for wealth preservation rather than growth. That often means investing in assets that aren’t tied to one country, currency or economy so you can hedge against inflation and market fluctuation.
And according to some experts, like Ray Dalio and Robert Kiyosaki, that means tapping the ultimate safe haven: gold.
This precious metal has hit record prices in recent months, surging over 70% year-over-year as of mid March, and some investors predict its value will soar even higher this year (7).
One way to invest in gold that can also provide significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Thor Metals.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases.
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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Navigator Research (1); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2); Tax Foundation (3); Vanguard (4); Empower (5); Manulife John Hancock Retirement (6); Reuters (7)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
