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  4. Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017 - May 2018

Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017 - May 2018

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Figure 1. Struggling financially and the national unemployment rate (by survey year)

Percent

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  2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Unemployment rate 6.9 5.7 5.0 4.7 4.1
Finding it difficult to get by 13 10 9 9 7

Note: Unemployment rate is from the Current Population Survey as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here and in subsequent figures, percents may not sum to 100 due to rounding and question non-response.

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

Percent

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Education level 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
High school degree or less 66 60 61 57 53
Some college or associate degree 70 69 66 62 62
Bachelor's degree or more 85 82 80 77 77
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Figure 3. At least doing okay financially (by education and race/ethnicity)

Percent

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Education level White Black Hispanic
High school degree or less 69 60 62
Some college or associate degree 73 63 64
Bachelor's degree or more 87 79 78
Overall 77 65 66
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Figure A. Personally exposed to the opioid epidemic (by race and education)

Percent

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Race Overall Bachelor's degree or more Less than bachelor's degree
White 25 22 27
Black 12 12 12
Hispanic 15 13 15
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Figure B. Self-assessment of the local and national economy as good or excellent (by exposure to opioid epidemic)

Percent

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  Exposed to opioids Not exposed to opioids
Local economy
All adults 54 58
Whites only 56 63
National economy
All adults 38 42
Whites only 38 46
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Figure 4. Family income distribution

Percent

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$0 5
$1- $4,999 7
$5,000- $14,999 7
$15,000- $24,999 8
$25,000- $39,999 11
$40,000- $49,999 8
$50,000- $74,999 16
$75,000- $99,999 11
$100,000- $149,999 13
$150,000 or higher 13
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Figure 5. Forms of financial support received from someone outside of the home
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Support type Percent
Help with car payment 17
Help with education expenses or student loans 24
Help with other bills 26
Help paying rent or mortgage 33
Money for general expenses 58

Note: Among adults receiving any support from outside the home.

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Figure 6. Choose varying, but higher-pay job, over stable-pay job (by gender and relative income from varying-pay job)

Percent

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  Men Women
A little more 38 35
Somewhat more 45 33
A lot more 60 55

Note: Among adults employed for someone else or who work as a contractor in their main job.

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Figure 7. Choose varying, but higher-pay job, over stable-pay job (by age and amount of higher income in variable-pay job)

Percent

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  18-29 30+
A little more 44 34
Somewhat more 40 39
A lot more 64 55

Note: Among adults employed for someone else or who work as a contractor in their main job.

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Figure 8. Advance notice for workers with irregular schedules based on their employer's needs (by select characteristics)

Percent

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  3 days or less 4-6 days 1-2 weeks 3 weeks in advance or longer
All workers 8 2 4 2
High school degree or less 13 2 4 2
Retail, wholesale, food services, or entertainment industries 12 4 12 4

Note: Among adults employed for someone else or who work as a contractor in their main job. Workers whose schedule does not vary or varies at their own request are not shown.

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Figure A. Variable work schedule and pay raises (by employment status)

Percent

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  Schedule varies, employer's needs Received raise
Part time, economic reasons 36 29
Part time, other reasons 26 37
Full time 12 56

Note: Among non-retired adults employed for someone else in their main job.

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Figure B. Choose hypothetical varying-pay job over stable-pay job (by current actual work schedule and relative income from hypothetical varying job)

Percent

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  A little more Somewhat more A lot more
Stable Hours 33 37 56
Varying hours, own request 52 50 64
Varying hours, employer's needs 45 43 62

Note: Among non-retired adults employed for someone else or working as a contractor in their main job.

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Figure 9. Main reasons for gig work
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Reason Percent
Supplement income from regular work 39
Hobby or just for fun 19
Primary source of income 16
Help family members 9
Acquire or maintain skills 2
Other 11

Note: Among gig workers in the past month.

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Figure 10. Importance of money earned through gig work to family incomes (by education)

Percent

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Level of importance High school degree or less Some college or associate degree Bachelor's degree or more
Very much important 17 17 10
Somewhat important 33 28 27
Not at all 30 38 51
Does not apply 19 16 11

Note: Among gig workers in the past month.

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Figure 11. Would cover a $400 emergency expense using cash or its equivalent (by survey year)

Percent

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  2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Yes 50 53 54 56 59
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Figure 12. Other ways that individuals would cover a $400 emergency expense

Percent

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Put it on a credit card and pay it off over time 43
Borrowing from a friend or family member 26
Selling something 19
Using a bank loan or line of credit 9
Using a payday loan, deposit advance, or overdraft 5
Other 4
Would not be able to pay for the expense right now 29

Note: Among those who would not pay the expense in full using cash or its equivalent. Respondents can select multiple answers.

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Figure 13. Not able to fully pay current month's bills (by education and race/ethnicity)

Percent

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  Currently After a $400 emergency expense
High school degree or less
White 25 13
Black 41 15
Hispanic 35 16
Some college or associate degree
White 18 12
Black 38 15
Hispanic 33 17
Bachelor's degree or more
White 10 6
Black 21 10
Hispanic 17 8
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Figure 14. Skipped medical treatment due to cost (by survey year)

Percent

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  2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Forgone care 32 31 27 25 27
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Figure 15. Banking status

Percent

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Fully banked 76
Unbanked 5
Underbanked 18

Note: Fully banked individuals have a bank or credit union account and have not used an alternative financial service in the past year.

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Figure 16. Types of credit applied for in the past 12 months
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Type Percent
Credit card 25
Auto loan 10
Personal general-purpose loan from a bank 5
Mortgage to buy a new home 4
Refinance of a home mortgage 3
Student loan 2
Home equity loan or line of credit 2
Personal loan from friends or family 1
Other 2

Note: Respondents can select multiple answers.

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Figure 17. Adverse credit outcomes (by form of credit applied for)
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Outcome Percent
Personal general-purpose loan from a bank 38
Credit card 34
Personal loan from friends or family 24
Home equity loan or line of credit 24
Refinance of a home mortgage 18
Auto loan 16
Mortgage to buy a new home 13
Student loan 10
Other 21

Note: Among adults who applied for each type of credit. Respondents who applied for multiple forms of credit report their credit outcomes for each type of credit separately.

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Figure 18. Frequency of carrying a balance on one or more credit cards in the past 12 months

Percent

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Most or all of the time 27
Some of the time 21
Once 6
Never carried a balance 45

Note: Among adults with at least one credit card.

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Figure 19. Difficulty getting landlord to fix problems with rental unit (by race/ethnicity)

Percent

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  None A little Moderate Substantial
Overall 22 7 7 11
Hispanic 19 7 9 10
Black 17 11 7 12
White 25 5 7 10

Note: Among all renters. Renters who did not contact their landlord about a repair are not shown.

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Figure 20. Satisfied with local neighborhood and housing characteristics
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Characteristic/amenity Percent
Cost of own house or apartment 66
Overall quality of own house or apartment 74
Local schools 59
Other neighborhood amenities 62
Safety of neighborhood 75
Overall quality of neighborhood 75

Note: Satisfaction with the cost of own house or apartment excludes those who do not own and are not paying rent.

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Figure 21. Satisfied with local neighborhood and housing characteristics (by neighborhood income)

Percent

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Characteristic/amenity Low or moderate income Middle or upper income
Cost of own house or apartment 61 68
Overall quality of own house or apartment 65 78
Local schools 47 64
Other neighborhood amenities 49 66
Safety of neighborhood 59 80
Overall quality of neighborhood 60 81

Note: Satisfaction with the cost of own house or apartment excludes those who do not own and are not paying rent. See table 1 for definitions of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

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Figure 22. Neighborhood amenities that are moderately or very important (by urban/rural residence)

Percent

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Amenity Rural Urban
Grocery store 81 89
Shops or restaurants 60 73
Bank or credit union 61 66
Place of worship 54 49
Library 42 49
Park or playground 35 49
Public transportation 23 39
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Figure A. Distance of current residence from ZIP code in high school
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Miles from ZIP code in high school Percent
0 29
1-10 18
11-75 21
76-500 15
Over 500 17

Note: Among adults age 22 and older.

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Figure B. Satisfied with local neighborhood and housing characteristics (by distance currently living from where lived in high school)

Percent

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Characteristic Within 10 miles Over 10 miles
Overall quality of neighborhood 71 80
Safety of neighborhood 59 61
Other neighborhood amenities 70 79
Local schools 58 65
Overall quality of own house or apartment 70 79
Cost of own house or apartment 64 70

Note: Among adults age 22 and older. Satisfaction with the cost of own house or apartment excludes those who do not own and are not paying rent.

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Figure C. Receiving financial support from outside the home or living with others without paying rent (by age and distance currently living from where lived in high school)

Percent

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Age Within 10 miles Over 10 miles
22-29 41 16
30-39 19 11
40+ 7 6

Note: Among adults age 22 and older.

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Figure 23. At least doing okay financially (by education)
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Education Percent
Graduate degree 90
Bachelor's degree 82
Associate degree 72
Some college, no associate degree 69
High school degree or less 66
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Figure 24. Self-assessed value of higher education (by degree and institution type)

Percent

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Education Benefits higher than costs Same costs and benefits Costs higher than benefits
Bachelor's degree or more, private for-profit 44 31 23
Bachelor's degree or more, private not-for-profit 64 19 17
Bachelor's degree or more, public 71 16 12
Associate degree, private for-profit 32 28 40
Associate degree, private not-for-profit 55 26 19
Associate degree, public 47 37 16

Note: Among adults who completed at least an associate or bachelor's degree. Degree holders are asked specifically about the value of their associate or bachelor's degree, rather than their higher education as a whole.

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Figure 25. Benefits of education outweigh costs (by field of study)
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Field of study Percent
Vocational/technical 46
Social/behavioral sciences 54
Health 61
Humanities 62
Law 66
Business/management 70
Computer/information sciences 71
Life sciences 72
Education 73
Physical sciences/math 78
Engineering 86

Note: Among adults who completed at least a bachelor's degree.

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Figure 26. Lifetime financial benefits of bachelor's degree exceed the costs (by age and survey year)

Percent

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Year 60+ 50-59 40-49 30-39 18-29
2017 81 75 69 61 52
2014 80 75 70 64 52

Note: Among adults who completed at least a bachelor's degree. 2014 is the earliest year for which data are available.

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Figure 27. Changes would make now to earlier education decisions (by institution type)

Percent

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Change Private for-profit Private not-for-profit Public
Attended a different school 51 26 22
Chosen a different field of study 41 34 38
Not attended college or less education 18 6 7
Completed more education 62 43 57

Note: Among adults who completed at least some college. Respondents can select multiple answers.

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Figure 28. Educational attainment of young adults ages 22-29 (by parents' education)

Percent

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  Both parents high school degree or less At least 1 parent with some college, neither with a bachelor's degree At least 1 parent with a bachelor's degree
High school degree or less 52 16 7
Some college or associate degree 29 47 23
Bachelor's degree or more* 19 38 71

 * Among adults ages 22 to 29. Return to table

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Figure 29. Institutions attended by young adults ages 22-29 (by parents' education)

Percent

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  Both parents high school degree or less At least 1 parent with some college, neither with a bachelor's degree At least 1 parent with a bachelor's degree
Private for-profit 12 10 4
Private not-for-profit 13 18 35
Public 72 63 61

Note: Among adults who completed at least some college.

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Figure 30. Institutions attended by young adults ages 22-29 (by race/ethnicity)

Percent

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  Hispanic Black White
Private for-profit 15 13 5
Private not-for-profit 18 23 28
Public 67 64 67

Note: Among adults who completed at least some college.

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Figure 31. Acquired debt for own education, including repaid (by age and highest degree completed)

Percent

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Education 18-29 30-44 45-59 60+
Graduate degree 75 64 60 36
Bachelor's degree 62 55 48 28
Associate degree 54 48 35 18
Some college or certificate 43 39 24 13

Note: Among adults who attended college.

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Figure 32. Payment status of loans for own education (by parents' education and current age)

Percent

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Status Not first-generation college students (all) First-generation college students (all)   Not first-generation college students (ages 18-29) First-generation college students (ages 18-29)
Behind 5 14   5 22
Current 47 39   72 64
Paid off 47 47   23 14

Note: Among adults who borrowed for their own education.

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Figure 33. Payment status of loans for own education (by current age and race/ethnicity)

Percent

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Status Hispanic (all) Black (all) White (all) Hispanic (ages 18-29) Black (ages 18-29) White (ages 18-29)
Behind 21 20 6 24 26 9
Current 47 49 39 69 67 69
Paid off 32 32 55 7 7 22

Note: Among adults who borrowed for their own education.

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Figure 34. Forms of retirement savings among non-retirees

Percent

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Defined contribution plan 55
Savings not in retirement accounts 43
IRA 32
Defined benefit pension 26
Real estate 16
Business 7
Other 2
None 25

Note: Among non-retirees. Respondents can select multiple answers.

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Figure 35. Lack of retirement savings and perception of preparedness (by age)

Percent

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  No retirement savings Perceive retirement savings as being on track
18-29 41 28
30-39 28 37
40-49 18 40
50-59 13 46
60+ 13 49

Note: Among non-retirees.

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Figure 36. Lack of retirement savings and self-assessed preparedness (by race/ethnicity)

Percent

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  No retirement savings Perceive retirement savings as being on track
White 20 43
Black 34 25
Hispanic 39 28

Note: Among non-retirees.

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Figure 37. Retirement savings are on track (by age and amount of savings for retirement)

Percent

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  18-29 1 30-39 40-49 50+
Less than $10,000/none 13 10 11 10
$10,000- $50,000 71 49 33 24
$50,000- $100,000 65 68 37 38
$100,000- $500,000 76 78 67 61
Over $500,000   96 91 89

Note: Among non-retirees.

 1. Respondents ages 18 to 29 with over $500,000 saved for retirement are excluded due to the small sample size. Return to table

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Figure 38. Perception that retirement savings are on track (by borrowing and withdrawing from retirement savings accounts)

Percent

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  Don't know Not on track On track
Did not cash out or borrow 18 43 39
Yes, borrowed money 16 49 35
Yes, cashed out 10 62 28
Yes, both 10 68 22

Note: Among non-retirees.

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Figure 39. Mostly or very comfortable investing self-directed retirement savings (by gender and education)

Percent

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  Very comfortable Mostly comfortable Comfortable
Female
Bachelor's degree or more 10 25 35
Some college or associate degree 12 21 32
High school degree or less 9 20 29
Male
Bachelor's degree or more 23 38 60
Some college or associate degree 16 29 45
High school degree or less 13 28 41

Note: Among non-retirees.

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Figure 40. Reasons for early retirement (by race/ethnicity)

Percent

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  White Black Hispanic
Wanted to do other things 58 48 53
Wanted to spend more time with family 53 50 63
Poor health 34 57 56
Family responsiblities 32 39 50
Didn't like the work 28 32 34
Forced to retire or lack of available work 23 34 36

Note: Among retirees who retired before age 65.

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Last Update: June 22, 2018