Reviewed by the Penny Time editorial team
Part of our Allowance hub.
How Much Allowance Should a 13-Year-Old Get? (2026 Data)
The short answer: most American parents give a 13-year-old between $12 and $18 per week in 2026, and $13 is a good place to start. That matches the long-standing rule of thumb of about $1 per week for each year of age. A 13-year-old sits at the start of the teen band, close to Greenlight's 2025 all-ages average of $13.15 per week and climbing toward the higher amounts at 15, 16, and 17.
What the 2026 data actually says
Two large US datasets report allowance by age: Greenlight's 2025 averages for families who use its app, and Till Financial's allowance guide, based on 9,135 US families who set up an allowance on Till in 2025 and 2026. Here is where 13 sits between 11 and 17:
| Age | Greenlight average (2025) | Till Financial typical range |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | $9.35 | $8 to $12 |
| 12 | $10.37 | $10 to $15 |
| 13 | $11.59 | $12 to $18 |
| 14 | $13.13 | $15 to $20 |
| 15 | $15.26 | $18 to $25 |
| 16 | $17.89 | $20 to $35 |
| 17 | $21.47 | $25 to $45 |
Both sources rise every year, and the yearly steps get bigger after 14. Thirteen is where the climb starts: Greenlight families paid $11.59 a week on average, and Till's typical range starts at $12.
If you want a single number to anchor on, $13 per week is the cleanest answer for a 13-year-old in 2026. It matches the per-year rule of thumb and scales neatly: $13 per week is about $56 per month or roughly $676 per year. For the full age-by-age progression, our allowance by age chart shows what to give from age 4 to 17.
How much money should a 13-year-old have saved?
There is no official figure for how much a 13-year-old should have, so the useful answer comes from what they receive. On $13 a week, a 13-year-old takes in about $676 over a year. What they end up with depends on how much of it they keep:
| Share saved | Per week | After 6 months | After 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $1.30 | $34 | $68 |
| 20% | $2.60 | $68 | $135 |
| 30% | $3.90 | $101 | $203 |
| 40% | $5.20 | $135 | $270 |
Birthday and holiday money, plus anything earned from babysitting, pet sitting, or yard work, lands on top of these numbers, so plenty of 13-year-olds finish the year with more. The figure matters less than the direction: a balance that grows month to month means the saving habit is working. If you want to plan what to do with gift money, our birthday money calculator splits it into spend and save. For a bigger one-time sum, like bar or bat mitzvah gifts, our bar and bat mitzvah money plan splits it into give, save, invest and spend.
Where should a 13-year-old keep their money?
Thirteen is a good age to move at least part of the money out of a jar and somewhere the balance is visible. The common options:
- Cash at home. Still fine for the spend bucket. Easy to see and touch, but easy to lose track of once it is spread across wallets and drawers.
- A teen savings or checking account. In the US, a minor's account usually needs a parent or guardian as co-owner until 18. Good for the save and goal buckets, since the money is out of reach of impulse buys.
- A kids or teen debit card. Useful once a lot of their spending is online. Most charge a monthly fee, but a few are free; see our comparison of free debit cards for kids.
Whichever you choose, the teaching comes from your teen checking the balance themselves and deciding what to do with it.
Want them to see a balance without a card?
In Penny Time, you set the allowance and it lands automatically on your schedule. On their own phone or tablet, your child watches their balance and asks you for cash-outs, with no card or bank account to link. Free for the whole family.
What changes at 13
Thirteen is a turning point. Middle school brings more independent spending: group hangouts, snacks, games, in-app purchases, and small gifts for friends. It is often the first age where a child wants money for things parents would not necessarily choose to buy, which makes it the right moment to hand over real decisions.
A setup that works well for 13-year-olds:
- Base allowance ($10 to $13 per week) for being part of the household and to keep a predictable budgeting rhythm.
- Earned extras from bigger optional jobs at home or informal work like babysitting, pet sitting, and yard work, kept separate so they feel the difference between a steady budget and money they worked for.
This mirrors adult finances: a baseline plus the upside of extra effort. If your teen is ready to start earning outside the home, our First Job Finder shows what is realistic and legal at this age, and our guide to jobs for 13-year-olds lists what each one pays. For how the numbers move across ages 11 to 14, see our middle school allowance guide.
The budgeting split that fits a 13-year-old
Younger kids do well with a simple 50/40/10 spend, save, give split. By 13, the priority starts shifting toward bigger goals and a first real account, so a slightly more ambitious split works:
| Bucket | Percentage | On $13/week | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spend | 50% | $6.50 | Snacks, games, group outings, small wants |
| Save | 30% | $3.90 | Short-term goals, a buffer for bigger buys |
| Goal | 20% | $2.60 | A bigger target like a console, a bike, or a phone upgrade |
At 13, the goal bucket is where the real teaching starts. A teen putting $2.60 a week toward a console hits about $135 in a year, and that waiting builds the patience adult saving depends on. This is also a reasonable age to move beyond cash toward a kids or teen debit account so they can see a running balance. Our wants vs needs guide helps with the spend bucket so the 50% does not vanish on impulse buys.
Common mistakes parents make at age 13
1. Setting an amount without defining what it covers
An allowance only teaches when the teen owns real trade-offs. If $13 a week is pure pocket money on top of parent-funded snacks, games, and outings, there is little to decide. Hand over a category or two, like their own social spending or game and app purchases, so the number means something.
2. Paying only for chores
Tying every dollar to a task can backfire: kids learn to skip the job when they do not want the money. A small base allowance for being part of the household, with extra earning available on top, keeps both the budgeting habit and the work ethic intact.
3. Keeping everything in cash
By 13, a lot of what kids want to buy is online. A teen who only ever handles cash misses the practice of tracking a balance and planning around a card. A kids or teen account at this age starts closing that gap before the bigger spending of the later teen years.
4. Forgetting to raise it
Teen costs climb faster than a younger child's. A useful rule is to add $1 to $2 per week each birthday and tie it to a new responsibility. A 13-year-old at $13 becomes a 14-year-old at $14 or $15, ideally with a new spending category to manage.
How to set the number this week
- Start from $13 per week as your baseline, adjusting up or down based on your household budget and what the allowance will cover.
- Decide which categories move to your teen: social spending, snacks, or game and app purchases are common first handoffs.
- Pick a payment day and a method. Thirteen is a good moment to consider a kids or teen debit account instead of cash.
- Agree on the 50/30/20 split, or your own ratios, before the first payment.
- Review in 90 days. What got saved? What ran short? Adjust the amount and the categories together.
If you want a quick way to model different amounts and splits for your teen, our allowance calculator runs the numbers across spend, save, and goal buckets for any age and weekly amount. It is free and saves nothing about your family.
At 13, the exact dollar amount matters less than handing over real decisions. A teen who gets $13 every week, owns their own social budget, and saves toward a goal will out-learn a teen who gets $25 with nothing to manage. Pick a number you can sustain, define what it covers, and treat it like the first real budget it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Till Financial data from 9,135 US families puts a typical 13-year-old allowance at $12 to $18 per week, and Greenlight families paid a 13-year-old $11.59 a week on average in 2025. A common default is $13, from the rule of thumb of about $1 per week per year of age. Both datasets rise every year through the teens, so 13 sits near the bottom of the teen curve.
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A good allowance for a 13-year-old is one that matches what it has to cover, not just a flat number. If your teen pays for their own snacks, game and app purchases, and group outings with friends, $13 to $15 per week is fair. If you still cover those directly, $10 is plenty. The amount should give them real trade-offs to manage without covering every want for them.
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There is no reliable national figure for a 13-year-old's total savings, so treat any single number with caution. What the data does show is the flow: at a $13 per week allowance, a 13-year-old who saves 40% sets aside about $270 over a year. Earned money from babysitting, pet sitting, or yard work adds to that. The savings habit matters far more at this age than the balance.
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There is no official benchmark, so work from what they receive. On a $13 per week allowance ($676 a year), saving 20% puts about $135 aside over a year, 30% about $203, and 40% about $270. Birthday money and earnings from babysitting or yard work sit on top of that. A 13-year-old who can point to a steady, growing balance is on track, whatever the exact figure.
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Usually yes, with a parent or guardian on it. In the US, most banks require an adult co-owner or custodian on a minor's account until 18, and many offer teen checking or savings accounts built that way. Teen debit card apps work the same way: the parent opens and oversees the account.
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A hybrid model works well at 13. Pay a small base allowance for being part of the household, then let bigger or optional jobs earn extra on top. This keeps a steady budgeting rhythm while still rewarding initiative, and it mirrors how adult pay works. At this age, informal earning like babysitting, pet sitting, and yard work also starts to be realistic, so some of their money can come from outside the home.
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A common approach is to add $1 to $2 per week each birthday through the teen years, since teen costs rise faster than a younger child's. If your 12-year-old got $11 or $12, moving to $13 at 13 tracks the data. Tie the raise to a new responsibility, like covering their own subscriptions or managing a monthly spending category, so the increase teaches something rather than just keeping pace.
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