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  4. Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2023 - May 2024

Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2023 - May 2024

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Figure 1. At least doing okay financially (by year)

Percent

Year At least okay
2013 62
2014 65
2015 69
2016 70
2017 74
2018 75
2019 75
2020 72
2020 77
2020 75
2021 78
2022 73
2023 72

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 2. At least doing okay financially (by year and education)

Percent

Year Less than a high school degree High school degree or GED Some college/technical or associate degree Bachelor's degree or more
2013 47 55 62 77
2014 42 60 62 77
2015 48 64 66 80
2016 46 64 68 82
2017 56 69 69 85
2018 49 69 72 87
2019 54 66 73 88
2020 45 67 72 89
2021 49 70 74 91
2022 49 63 70 88
2023 48 63 67 87

Note: Among all adults. Results differ slightly from reports prior to 2021 because of adjustments in the education coding for consistency.

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Figure 3. At least doing okay financially (by year and race/ethnicity)

Percent

Year White Black Hispanic Asian
2013 65 53 56 75
2014 68 55 55 79
2015 71 61 63 75
2016 72 64 64 79
2017 77 65 66 78
2018 78 66 67 81
2019 79 65 66 85
2020 80 64 64 84
2021 81 68 71 88
2022 77 64 64 84
2023 76 68 61 82

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 4. At least doing okay financially (by year and parental status)

Percent

Year All other adults Parents (living with own children under age 18)
2015 70 65
2016 71 68
2017 75 71
2018 76 72
2019 77 71
2020 78 67
2021 79 75
2022 75 69
2023 75 64

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 5. Financial situation compared with 12 months prior (by year)

Percent

Year Worse off Better off
2014 21 29
2015 19 27
2016 17 27
2017 15 33
2018 13 31
2019 14 32
2020 24 25
2021 20 25
2022 35 19
2023 31 20

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 6. Categories of self-reported main financial challenges in 2016, 2022, and 2023

Percent

Category 2016 2022 2023
Inflation 8 33 35
Basic living expenses 11 22 21
Housing 7 10 12
Employment 10 9 9
Retirement and savings 10 13 9
Medical 8 6 6
Debt 7 5 6
Education 6 5 5
None 53 28 31

Note: Among respondents who provided a text response or selected the none box. Key identifies bars in order from left to right.

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Figure 7. Assessment of own financial well-being, local economy, and national economy (by year)

Percent

Year Own finances (doing at least okay) Local economy (good or excellent) National economy (good or excellent)
2017 74 57 41
2018 75 64 51
2019 75 63 50
2020 75 43 26
2021 78 48 24
2022 73 38 18
2023 72 42 22

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 8. Family income
Income Percent
Less than $25,000 19
$25,000-$49,999 17
$50,000-$99,999 27
$100,000 or more 37

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 9. Share with increases or decreases in monthly income and spending from 12 months earlier (by year)

Percent

Monthly income Decreased Increased
2020 -19 24
2021 -13 30
2022 -13 33
2023 -13 34

Note: Among all adults. Respondents could also say that their monthly income and spending were about the same as 12 months earlier (not shown). Key identifies bars in order from left to right.

Monthly spending Decreased Increased
2020 -22 20
2021 -12 25
2022 -10 40
2023 -9 38

Note: Among all adults. Respondents could also say that their monthly income and spending were about the same as 12 months earlier (not shown). Key identifies bars in order from left to right.

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Figure 10. Monthly spending relative to income (by year)

Percent

Characteristic 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Spent more than income in prior month 17 16 17 16 16 19 19
Spending equal to income 32 32 31 29 29 32 32
Spent less than income in prior month 50 51 52 55 55 49 48

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 11. Montly spending relative to income (by family income)

Percent

Family income Spent more than income in prior month Spending equal to income Spent less than income in prior month
Less than $25,000 31 39 30
$25,000-$49,999 24 40 36
$50,000-$99,999 19 34 46
$100,000 or more 12 23 65

Note: Among all adults. Key identifies lines in order from left to right.

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Figure12. Income varied at least occasionally month to month (by industry)

Percent

Industry Varying income
Construction 47
Leisure and Hospitality 44
Natural Resources and Mining 42
Transportation and Utilities 41
Wholesale and Retail Trade 38
Other Services 35
Education and Health Services 29
Public Administration 27
Financial Activities 26
Manufacturing 25
Information 23
Professional and Business Service 22
Armed Forces 21

Note: Among adults who reported industry of employment.

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Figure 13. Amount of work done from home (by education)

Percent

Education None Some All
High school degree or less 84 8 9
Some college/technical or associate degree 74 15 11
Bachelor's degree or more 41 35 24

Note: Among adults who worked for someone else. Key identifies bars in order from left from right.

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Figure 14. Very likely to actively look for another job or leave their job if employer changes pay or requires in person work (by pay cuts and exclusive in person work)

Percent

Characteristic Very likely
Freeze pay 15
Lower pay by 1 percent 27
Report in person 31
Lower pay by 5 percent 40
Lower pay by 10 percent 49

Note: Among adults who worked for someone else and worked from home at least some of the time.

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Figure 15. Job actions taken in prior 12 months (by year)

Percent

Job Action 2021 2022 2023
Received a raise or a promotion 30 33 33
Asked for a raise or a promotion 9 13 13
Applied for a new job 20 23 22
Started a new job 13 15 14
Voluntarily left a job 9 11 9
Got laid off or lost a job 7 5 6

Note: Among all adults. Respondents could select multiple answers. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom

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Figure 16. Median monthly childcare and housing payment (by homeownship status and hours of childcare used)

Percent

Characteristic Median housing payment Median childcare payment
Homeowners, any paid childcare $2,000 $1,000
Homeowners, use 20 or more hours $1,900 $1,360
Renters, any paid childcare $1,250 $680
Renters, use 20 or more hours $1,200 $800

Note: Among adults living with their children under age 13 and report a monthly childcare and housing cost. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 17. Regularly provides unpaid care to an adult due to aging, disability, or illness (by race/ethnicity)

Percent

Race/Ethnicity Provide unpaid care
White 15
Black 18
Hispanic 19
Asian 17

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 18. Relationship to those you provide unpaid care for due to aging, disability, or illness

Category Percent

Parent or spouse's or partner's parent 61
Another relative 25
Friend or neighbor 17
Spouse or partner 14
An adult child 14

Note: Among adults who provided unpaid care for an adult due to aging, disability, or illness.

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Figure 19. Reasons for not working among prime-age adults (by arrest and conviction record)

Percent

Reasons for not working No prior arrests or convictions Arrested only Convicted
Could not find work 6 8 11
Childcare 4 2 5
Caregiving for an elderly, disabled, or sick adult 3 3 7
Family and personal obligations besides caregiving 6 5 7
Would lose access to government benefits 2 4 5
Health limitations or disability 7 14 15
School or training 2 2 2
Retired 1 3 2

Note: Among adults age 25-54. Respondents could select multiple answers. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 20. Skipped medical treatment because of cost (by year)

Percent

Year Yes
2013 32
2014 31
2015 27
2016 25
2017 27
2018 24
2019 25
2020 23
2021 24
2022 28
2023 27

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 21. Would cover a $400 emergency expense completely using cash or its equivalent (by year)

Percent

Year Yes
2013 50
2014 53
2015 54
2016 56
2017 59
2018 61
2019 63
2020 64
2021 68
2022 63
2023 63

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 22. Use of nonbank check cashing and money orders (by bank account ownership)

Percent

Banking status 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Unbanked 47 40 35 31 33
Banked 15 12 12 12 12

Note: Among all adults

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Figure 23. Denied credit or approved for less than was requested(by family income and race/ethnicity)

Percent

Characteristic Yes
Less than $50,000  
White 47
Black 65
Hispanic 59
$50,000-$99,999  
White 27
Black 41
Hispanic 37
$100,000 or more  
White 13
Black 29
Hispanic 24

Note: Among adults who applied for some form of credit in the past 12 months.

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Figure 24. Reasons for using Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
Characteristic Percent
Wanted to spread out payments 87
Convenience 82
Avoid interest charges 60
Only way I could afford it 55
Did not want to use a credit card 54
Wanted a fixed number of payment 46
Only accepted payment method I had 21

Note: Among adults who have used BNPL in the past year. Respondents could select multiple answers.

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Figure 25. BNPL use (by self-reported credit rating)

Percent

Rating Used BNPL
Don’t know 7
Very poor 20
Poor 27
Fair 28
Good 16
Excellent 7

Note: Among all adults. BNPL is Buy Now, Pay Later

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Figure 26. Use of payday, pawn, auto title, or refund anticipation loans (by self-reported credit rating)

Percent

Rating Yes
Don’t know 5
Very poor 19
Poor 26
Fair 14
Good 4
Excellent 1

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 27. Satisfied with local neighborhood characteristics (by homeownership status)

Percent

Charactertistic Own Rent
Overall quality 83 64
Quality of your local schools (among parents of children under age 18) 71 56
Crime risk 68 49
Cost of housing 42 29

Note: Among adults who rent or own their homes. Quality of local schools is among parents living with their own children under age 18. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 28. Disruptions from natural disasters in the prior 12 months

Disruption Percent

Income loss or work disruption 4
Property damage 9
Needed to evacuate temporarily 2
Longer-term displacement from home 1
Financially affected in any way 19

Note: Among all adults. Respondents could select multiple answers or may have been affected in other ways.

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Figure 29. Share with no homeowners insurance (by census region and family income)
Characteristic Percent
Northeast  
Less than $50,000 8
$50,000-$99,999 2
$100,000 or more 0.08
Midwest  
Less than $50,000 11
$50,000-$99,999 2
$100,000 or more 0
South  
Less than $50,000 22
$50,000-$99,999 5
$100,000 or more 1
West  
Less than $50,000 14
$50,000-$99,999 1
$100,000 or more 1

Note: Among homeowners. Homeowners with a mortgage are imputed as having insurance since insurance is generally required by the lender. Key identifies bars in order from left to right.

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Figure 30. Benefits of education exceed costs (by education and age)

Percent

Education 18-29 30-44 45-59 60+
Some college or technical degree 25 20 28 34
Associate degree 37 32 44 56
Bachelor's degree 55 55 67 75
Graduate or professional degree 63 66 77 86

Note: Among adults who enrolled in education beyond high school. Adults who have not completed a certificate, technical, associate, or higher degree program and are currently enrolled in college are excluded. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 31. Would now choose a different field of study (by most recent educational program)

Percent

Most recent educational program Yes
Social/behavioral sciences 44
Humanities/arts 43
Life sciences 43
Law 41
Education 38
Undeclared/other 37
Physical sciences/math 35
Business/management 34
Vocational/technical training 34
Health 32
Computer/information sciences 31
Engineering 27
Overall 35

Note: Among adults who enrolled in an educational program beyond high school. Adults who have not completed a certificate, technical, associate, or higher degree program and are currently enrolled in college are excluded.

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Figure 32. Acquired student loans for own education, including repaid debt (by age and education)

Percent

Education 18-29 30-44 45-59 60+
Some college or technical degree 39 37 29 14
Associate degree 39 50 44 24
Bachelor's degree 57 58 47 34
Graduate degree 59 64 59 40

Note: Among adults who attended an educational program beyond high school. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 33. Share of borrowers with at least $25,000 of student loan debt from their own education (by education and race/ethnicity)

Percent

Characteristic $25,000 or more
Race/ethnicity  
White 41
Black 52
Hispanic 37
Education  
Some college or technical degree 22
Associate degree 31
Bachelor's degree 48
Graduate degree 71
Overall 42

Note: Among adults with outstanding student loans for their own education who reported the current amount they owed on their student loans.

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Figure 34. View retirement savings plan as on track (by year)

Percent

Year Yes
2017 38
2018 36
2019 37
2020 36
2021 40
2022 31
2023 34

Note: Among non-retirees.

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Figure 35. Mostly or very comfortable choosing and managing investments (by investable assets and gender)

Percent

Investable Assets Female Male
Under $50,000 27 37
$50,000 - $99,999 38 51
$100,000 - $249,999 45 59
$250,000 - $499,999 52 73
$500,000 - $999,999 56 68
$1,000,000 or more 67 83

Note: Among adults who reported investable assets. Key identifies dots in order from left to right.

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Last Update: May 29, 2024