Every parent has been there. Your kid asks for an allowance, and suddenly you are doing math in your head. Is five dollars fair? Is twenty too much? What are other families doing? Greenlight has published some numbers that might help. On its Learning Center page on average allowance by age, last updated May 12, 2026, it reports that the average weekly allowance for kids ages 5 to 19 is $13.15.
That figure comes from Greenlight’s 2025 data. It is worth knowing right away that it reflects families who use Greenlight, not a random sample of the whole country. So treat it as a useful yardstick, not a national rule.
What Kids Get At Different Ages
The averages climb as children grow, which makes sense. Greenlight breaks it down this way:
- Ages 9 to 11 average $8.58 a week.
- Ages 12 to 19 average $18.11 a week.
- Five-year-olds average $6.18 a week.
- Thirteen-year-olds average $11.59 a week.
- Seventeen-year-olds average $21.47 a week.
Look at the jump. A 5-year-old averages a little over six dollars, and by 17 the average is more than three times that. If your child is somewhere in the middle, you can see roughly where your number falls.
One more way to use these numbers is to look at the gaps between ages. Moving from $8.58 for the 9 to 11 group to $18.11 for the 12 to 19 group is a big step. The start of the teen years can be a natural moment to hand over more responsibility along with the extra money.
Most Parents Do Give One
If you give an allowance, you are in good company. According to an Ipsos and Wells Fargo Family Banking study from May 2025, 71 percent of US parents give their kids an allowance. The same study found that 85 percent of parents feel they should talk to their kids about money more.
That second number may be the more important one. An allowance is not just a payment. It is a chance to teach a child what money is, where it goes and what happens when it runs out.
How To Decide What Is Fair In Your House
An average is a starting point. Your family is not the average, and the right number depends on what the money is meant to cover. Here are some questions to ask before you settle on an amount.
- What is the allowance for? If it covers snacks, apps or small treats, the amount can be lower. If your teen is paying for gas money, lunches or clothes, it may need to be higher.
- Is it tied to chores? Some families link pay to jobs around the house. Others treat basic chores as part of living in a family and pay only for extras. Pick a system and stay consistent.
- What fits the budget? Whatever the national figure says, you should never stretch your own finances to match a number.
- Is it age appropriate? A small amount, given regularly, teaches more than a large amount handed over randomly.
Turn The Allowance Into A Lesson
Giving a child money is the easy part. The learning happens in what you ask them to do with it. Here are a few simple habits that work in many homes.
Try the three jar idea. One part to spend, one part to save, one part to share. Even young children can understand a clear jar with a label on it, and watching the saving jar fill up is a lesson in patience.
Let them make small mistakes. If your child blows the whole week’s money on candy by Tuesday, resist the urge to hand over more. A few dollars lost at age eight is a cheap lesson compared with a bigger mistake as an adult.
Talk about prices. Take your child to the store with their own money and let them compare. Seeing that a toy costs three weeks of saving changes how they think about wanting things.
Review it every so often. As your child grows, their needs change. A birthday is a good moment to raise the amount and talk about the new responsibilities that come with it.
If you are just starting out, begin small and be willing to adjust. It is much easier to raise an allowance after a few good months than to cut one that turned out too generous. Write down the rules, even if it is just a sticky note on the fridge, so nobody has to argue about what was agreed.
So Are You Paying Too Much Or Too Little?
If you are close to the averages, you can relax. If you are well above or below, that is fine too, as long as it fits your budget and your goals. The numbers from Greenlight are a conversation starter, not a grade.
What matters most is that the money comes with a plan, that kids learn something from it and that the whole family is on the same page. Pick an amount you can keep up, explain how it works, and keep talking about money along the way. That habit will outlast any weekly number.
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