Average allowance by age (US and UK)
Weekly amounts by age. US: Greenlight app data, 2025. UK: NatWest Rooster Money Pocket Money Index, 1 March 2025 – 28 February 2026. Survey and app data, not official statistics: no government body publishes pocket money figures.
| Age | US (Greenlight) | UK regular | UK incl. chores |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $6.18 | — | — |
| 6 | $6.44 | £2.69 | £4.58 |
| 7 | $6.79 | £2.79 | £4.77 |
| 8 | $7.22 | £2.88 | £5.10 |
| 9 | $7.86 | £3.07 | £5.52 |
| 10 | $8.53 | £3.27 | £6.08 |
| 11 | $9.35 | £3.56 | £7.30 |
| 12 | $10.37 | £4.01 | £9.15 |
| 13 | $11.59 | £4.50 | £11.50 |
| 14 | $13.13 | £5.10 | £13.97 |
| 15 | $15.26 | £5.66 | £16.34 |
| 16 | $17.89 | £6.68 | £21.26 |
| 17 | $21.47 | £7.95 | £22.56 |
A common US rule of thumb is $1 a week for each year of age (Greenlight’s guide); we show it as a range up to $1.50. We found no published UK equivalent, so for the UK the calculator uses the data only.
Why averages disagree
- Parent surveys report more. Wells Fargo and Ipsos found $37 a week across parents of 5–17-year-olds in 2025. Asked in a survey, parents tend to fold in gifts, top-ups and money spent on the child’s behalf.
- App data reports less. Greenlight’s account data gives $13.15 a week across ages 5–19: only what is actually paid in, on a schedule.
- Regular vs total. In the UK, regular pocket money averages £3.94 a week, but total income including chores and boosts is £9.74. The calculator shows both as a range.
What to move to their list at each age
The amount should grow with what it covers. A simple sequence, one new category at a time:
| Age | Hand over |
|---|---|
| 6 | snacks and sweets |
| 9 | toys and games, gifts for friends |
| 12 | outings with friends |
| 14 | clothes, transport |
Should allowance be tied to chores?
Most families do some of both. Among UK families with a regular allowance, 34.8% make it depend on chores (Rooster Money 2026). A hybrid keeps a small unconditional base, leaves everyday tidying unpaid, and pays for optional jobs. UK rates give a sense of scale: mowing the lawn averages £3.52 a time, making the bed £0.28.
Compound interest for kids, in one example
If an 8-year-old saves £1 a week until 18, they put in £520. At 3% a year, compounded monthly, it grows to about £606: almost all of it is their own saving, and that is the lesson worth showing. The calculator does this for your child’s amount, with three rates side by side. To plan a monthly saving from birth, use the compound interest calculator for kids.
For the longer guide, read how much allowance by age. To run it day to day, see the pocket money tracker, the allowance app without a debit card and CapKin for kids.
Frequently asked questions
- How much allowance for a 10-year-old?
- Greenlight families in the US give $8.53 a week at ten (2025), and the $1-per-year rule gives $10. In the UK, Rooster Money children get £3.27 a week in regular pocket money at ten, or £6.08 including chores.
- How much pocket money by age in the UK?
- From £2.69 a week at six to £7.95 at seventeen in regular pocket money (NatWest Rooster Money, 2026). Including chores and boosts, total income runs from £4.58 to £22.56.
- Should allowance be tied to chores?
- A hybrid works for most families: a small unconditional base, everyday jobs unpaid, and pay for optional extras. 34.8% of UK families with a regular allowance make it depend on chores (Rooster Money 2026).
- When should I start giving an allowance?
- Many families start at five or six, once a child can count coins and knows that things cost money. Start small, pay on the same day each week, and let your child keep track of it.
- What should an allowance cover?
- Write down what your child will buy themselves, total it, and add about 20% so there are real choices to make. Start with snacks and small toys; add outings, clothes and transport as they get older.
- What is the average allowance in the US?
- It depends on who measures. Parents surveyed by Wells Fargo and Ipsos in 2025 reported $37 a week; Greenlight’s app data shows $13.15 across ages 5–19. 71% of US parents of 5–17-year-olds give an allowance.
- Weekly, fortnightly or monthly?
- Weekly while they are young, fortnightly from around twelve, monthly in the teenage years. A longer gap teaches making a sum last, the skill adult pay needs.
How we calculate this
The weekly range comes from one of three models: the US rule of thumb ($1–$1.50 per year of age), what families give by age (Greenlight in the US, Rooster Money in the UK), or paid chores. All of it is survey or app data, not official statistics. The savings block is an illustration of compound interest, not a forecast.
Full methodology and sources
- Rule of thumb (US): age × $1 to age × $1.50 a week. The $1 end is the rule Greenlight publishes; the $1.50 end is ours. There is no UK equivalent we could source, so UK visitors see data only.
- Average for this age: US: Greenlight’s average weekly allowance for that age, 2025. UK: Rooster Money regular pocket money to total income including chores and boosts, 1 March 2025 – 28 February 2026; the 17-year-old total is £22.56 in the index table (its text says £23.56).
- Chores: times a week × the rate. UK rates are Rooster Money’s average per job; Greenlight publishes none, so US parents enter their own. With “base + chores”, the base is the US average or the UK regular pocket money for that age. The same chores count for each child.
- More than one child: each child is worked out for their own age and the amounts are added together.
- Per month and per year: weekly × 52 ÷ 12 and weekly × 52. A fortnight is two weeks.
Savings until 18. Weekly saving = the middle of the weekly range × the share you choose. It is paid in monthly (× 52 ÷ 12) at the end of each month and compounded monthly until the child turns 18, at 0%, 3%, 5% a year. Contributions and interest are shown apart. Not included: inflation, tax, changes in rates, and the allowance rising with age. Rates change; this is an illustration, not a forecast.
Privacy. We never ask for a child’s name. The link and the email carry only ages, the model, chores and the savings share; what you give now stays in your browser.