The Fed - Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 - May 2025

Figure 1. Doing okay or living comfortably financially (by year)

Percent

Year	At least okay
2013	62
2014	65
2015	69
2016	70
2017	74
2018	75
2019	75
2020	75
2021	78
2022	73
2023	72
2024	73

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 2. Doing okay or living comfortably 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
2024	47	64	68	87

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

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Figure 3. Doing okay of living comfortably financially (by year and race/ethnicity)

Percent

Year	Asian	White	Hispanic	Black
2013	75	65	56	53
2014	79	68	55	55
2015	75	71	63	61
2016	79	72	64	64
2017	78	77	66	65
2018	81	78	67	66
2019	85	79	66	65
2020	84	80	64	64
2021	88	81	71	68
2022	84	77	64	64
2023	82	76	61	68
2024	82	77	63	65

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 4. Doing okay or living comfortably financially (by year and parental status)

Percent

Year	All other adults	Parents (living with own children under 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
2024	76	65

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
2024	29	23

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 6. Categories of self-reported main financial challenges in 2016, 2022, 2023 and 2024

Percent

Category	2016	2022	2023	2024
Inflation and prices	8	33	35	37
Basic living expenses	11	22	21	22
Housing	7	10	12	13
Employment	10	9	9	8
Retirement and savings	10	13	9	7
None	53	28	31	29

Note: Among respondents who provided a text response or selected the none box. In 2024, this question was only asked of a randomized half of the sample. Response categories for medical expenses, debt, and education not shown.

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 okay or living comfortably)	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
2024	73	46	29

Note: Among all adults. For each series, the responses presented represent the most favorable two outcomes on a four-point scale.

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Figure 8. Amount of work done from home (by education)

Percent

Amount of work done from home	High school degree or less	Some college/technical or associate degree	Bachelor's degree or more
None	82	69	40
Some	9	16	34
All	9	15	26

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

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Figure 9. New jobs and separations (by year)

Percent

New jobs and separations	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Laid-off			14	7	5	6	6
Laid off- pre	3	3	14
Left a job voluntarily	8	9	7	9	11	9	9
Started a new job	13	13	12	13	15	14	14
Applied for a new job	21	22	21	20	23	22	23

Note: Among all adults. Layoffs from 2019 and earlier are not directly comparable with those from 2020 and after due to a change in the question format in 2020.

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Figure 10. Share of job changes with improved characteristics (by year)

Percent

Characteristics	2021	2022	2023	2024
Pay or benefits	56	63	57	52
Opportunities for advancement	48	51	46	39
Interest in the work	53	55	53	47
Work-life balance	43	43	43	38
Overall	66	72	67	62

Note: Among adults who started a new job and had a different main job than a year ago.

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Figure 11. Median monthly childcare and housing payment (by homeownership status and hours of childcare used)

Dollars

Characteristic	Median housing payment	Median childcare payment
Homeowners, any paid childcare	$2,016	$1,060
Homeowners, use 20 or more hours	$2,100	$1,460
Renters, any paid childcare	$1,370	$668
Renters, use 20 or more hours	$1,546	$1,100

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

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Figure 12. Forms of childcare used (by employment status)

Percent

Characteristic	Doesn't use paid or unpaid childcare	Only paid childcare	Only unpaid childcare	Both paid and unpaid childcare
No working parent	60	4	32	4
Two parents, one working	54	6	34	6
Two parents, both working	33	17	33	17
Single parent, working	32	9	49	10

Note: Among adults living with their own children under age 13. Key identifies bars in order from left to right.

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Figure 13. Relationship to those you provide unpaid care for due to aging, disability, or illness

Relationship	Percent
Friend or neighbor	17
Another relative	26
Adult child	14
Spouse or partner	14
Parent, or spouse's or partner's parent	61

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

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Figure 14. Frequency of unpaid care (by recipient)

Percent

Relationship	Daily	Several days per week	Several days per month	Once a month or less
Friend or neighbor	20	29	38	13
Another relative	24	29	32	14
Adult child	43	23	20	14
Spouse or partner	64	16	12	8
Parent, or spouse's or partner's parent	31	31	28	10

Note: Among adults who provided unpaid care for an adult due to aging, disability, or illness. Key identifies bars in order from left to right.

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Figure 15. Family Income

Family Income	Percent
Less than $25,000	19
$25,000–$49,999	16
$50,000–$99,999	26
$100,000 or more	39

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 16. Share with increases and decreases in monthly income and spending from 12 months earlier (by year)

Percent

Characteristic	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total monthly income - Compared
Decreased	19	13	13	13	13
Increased	24	30	33	34	32
Total monthly spending - Compare
Decreased	22	12	10	9	10
Increased	20	25	40	38	37
Total monthly income - Compared
Decreased	19	13	13	13	13
Increased	24	30	33	34	32
Total monthly spending - Compare
Decreased	22	12	10	9	10
Increased	20	25	40	38	37

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 17. Monthly spending relative to income (by year)

Percent

Monthly spending	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Spent more than income in prior month	17	16	17	16	16	19	19	19
Spending equal to income	32	32	31	29	29	32	32	30
Spent less than income in prior month	50	51	52	55	55	49	48	51

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 18. Monthly 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	30	38	32
$25,000-$49,999	25	37	38
$50,000-$99,999	18	33	49
$100,000 or more	12	22	66

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

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Figure 19. Skipped medical treatment because of cost (by year)

Year	Percent
2013	32
2014	31
2015	27
2016	25
2017	27
2018	24
2019	25
2020	23
2021	24
2022	28
2023	27
2024	28

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 20. 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
2024	63

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 21. Have savings to cover three months of expenses (by how often have money left over at end of the month)

Percent

Characteristic	Yes
Always have money left over	85
Often have money left over	76
Sometimes have money left over	52
Rarely have money left over	29
Never have money left over	13

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 22. 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
2024	35

Note: Among non-retirees.

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Figure 23. Retirees doing okay or living comfortably financially (by sources of private income in the prior 12 months)

Percent

Income	Yes
Private income: Labor income	85
Private income: No labor income
Pension + Interest, dividends, or rents	96
Interest, dividends, or rents	93
Pension	84
No private income	54
Overall	82

Note: Among retirees. Sources of income include the income of a spouse or partner. Recipients of labor income may have income from other private sources, but other categories are mutually exclusive. So 'Pension,' for example, indicates the retiree had income from a pension but not interest, dividends, or rents. Retirees may have received income from public sources as well.

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Figure 24. Unbanked rate (by year)

Percent

Year	Unbanked
2015	8
2016	7
2017	5
2018	6
2019	6
2020	5
2021	6
2022	6
2023	6
2024	6

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 25. Use of nonbank check cashing or money orders (by bank account ownership)

Percent

Year	Unbanked	Banked
2019	47	15
2020	40	12
2021	35	12
2022	31	12
2023	33	12
2024	32	11

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 26. Credit outcomes and perceptions (by year)

Percent

Category	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Very confident credit card application would be approved	53	59	60	60	62	61	65	63	63	62
Applied for any type of credit	39	40	39	35	41	37	38	35	36	34
Denied credit or offered less (among those who applied)	33	31	32	31	31	31	28	30	32	33

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 27. Denied credit or approved for less than was requested (by race/ethnicity)

Percent

Year	White	Black	Hispanic
2015	26	53	48
2016	24	56	47
2017	24	53	45
2018	24	55	45
2019	24	57	40
2020	24	51	46
2021	22	46	37
2022	24	48	39
2023	27	48	42
2024	26	51	44

Note: Among adults who applied for credit.

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Figure 28. Credit card ownership and usage (by year)

Percent

Year	Carried a balance (among credit card holders)	Has a credit card
2015	57	77
2016	54	79
2017	54	83
2018	53	81
2019	52	83
2020	49	83
2021	48	84
2022	48	82
2023	47	82
2024	46	81

Note: Among adults all adults. Carried a balance reflects the share who carried a balance at least once in the past year.

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Figure 29. Use of Buy now, Pay Later (BNPL)

Percent

Year	Used BNPL	Paid late (among users)
2021	10	15
2022	12	17
2023	14	18
2024	15	24

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 30. Type of financial fraud experienced (by age)

Percent

Category	18–29	30–44	45–59	60+
Any financial fraud	14	17	25	26
Credit card fraud	10	13	20	21
Other type of financial fraud	7	7	10	9

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

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Figure 31. Satisfied with local neighborhood characteristics (by homeownership status)

Percent

Characteristics	Own	Rent
Overall quality	84	63
Quality of your local schools	69	55
Crime risk	72	49
Cost of housing	43	28

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 32. Financially affected by natural disaster or severe weather event (by census division)

Percent

Census division	Financially affected
New England	12
Mid-Atlantic	11
East-North Central	14
West-North Central	15
South Atlantic	35
East-South Central	18
West-South Central	35
Mountain	18
Pacific	15

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 33. Share with no homeowners insurance on primary residence (by census division)

Percent

Census division	No
New England	2
Mid-Atlantic	4
East-North Central	5
West-North Central	4
South Atlantic	7
East-South Central	9
West-South Central	13
Mountain	5
Pacific	5

Note: Among all homeowners.

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Figure 34. Acquired student loans for own education, including repaid debt (by age)

Percent

Characteristic	60+	45–59	30–44	18–29
Borrowed and fully paid off student loans	25	33	27	7
Has outstanding student loans	2	10	25	35

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

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Figure 35. Share of borrowers with at least $25,000 of student loan debt from their own education (by education and race/ethnicity)

Percent

Characteristic	Less than $25,000	$25,000 or more
Education
Some college or technical degree	77	23
Associate degree	66	34
Bachelor's degree	53	47
Graduate degree	31	69
Race/ethnicity
White	58	42
Black	52	48
Hispanic	65	35
Overall	58	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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Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 - May 2025

Accessible Version

Figure 1. Doing okay or living comfortably financially (by year)

Figure 2. Doing okay or living comfortably financially (by year and education)

Figure 3. Doing okay of living comfortably financially (by year and race/ethnicity)

Figure 4. Doing okay or living comfortably financially (by year and parental status)

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

Figure 6. Categories of self-reported main financial challenges in 2016, 2022, 2023 and 2024

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

Figure 8. Amount of work done from home (by education)

Figure 9. New jobs and separations (by year)

Figure 10. Share of job changes with improved characteristics (by year)

Figure 11. Median monthly childcare and housing payment (by homeownership status and hours of childcare used)

Figure 12. Forms of childcare used (by employment status)

Figure 13. Relationship to those you provide unpaid care for due to aging, disability, or illness

Figure 14. Frequency of unpaid care (by recipient)

Figure 15. Family Income

Figure 16. Share with increases and decreases in monthly income and spending from 12 months earlier (by year)

Figure 17. Monthly spending relative to income (by year)

Figure 18. Monthly spending relative to income (by family income)

Figure 19. Skipped medical treatment because of cost (by year)

Figure 20. Would cover a $400 emergency expense completely using cash or its equivalent (by year)

Figure 21. Have savings to cover three months of expenses (by how often have money left over at end of the month)

Figure 22. View retirement savings plan as on track (by year)

Figure 23. Retirees doing okay or living comfortably financially (by sources of private income in the prior 12 months)

Figure 24. Unbanked rate (by year)

Figure 25. Use of nonbank check cashing or money orders (by bank account ownership)

Figure 26. Credit outcomes and perceptions (by year)

Figure 27. Denied credit or approved for less than was requested (by race/ethnicity)

Figure 28. Credit card ownership and usage (by year)

Figure 29. Use of Buy now, Pay Later (BNPL)

Figure 30. Type of financial fraud experienced (by age)

Figure 31. Satisfied with local neighborhood characteristics (by homeownership status)

Figure 32. Financially affected by natural disaster or severe weather event (by census division)

Figure 33. Share with no homeowners insurance on primary residence (by census division)

Figure 34. Acquired student loans for own education, including repaid debt (by age)

Figure 35. Share of borrowers with at least $25,000 of student loan debt from their own education (by education and race/ethnicity)