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  4. Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022 - May 2023

Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022 - May 2023

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Figure 1. At least doing okay financially (by year)
Year Percent
Oct-13 62
Oct-14 65
Oct-15 69
Oct-16 70
Oct-17 74
Oct-18 75
Oct-19 75
Apr-20 72
Jul-20 77
Oct-20 75
Oct-21 78
Oct-22 73

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

Note: Among all adults. Results for 2017 to 2019 differ slightly from previous reports because of adjustments in 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

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)
2016 71 68
2017 75 71
2018 76 72
2019 77 71
2020 78 67
2021 79 75
2022 75 69

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

Note: Among all adults.

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

Percent

Category 2016 2022
Inflation 8 33
General needs 11 22
Retirement and savings 10 13
Housing 7 10
Employment 10 9
Medical 8 6
Debt 7 5
Education 6 5
None 53 28

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. Categories of self-reported main financial challenges (by family income)

Percent

Category Less than $50,000 $50,000-$99,999 $100,000 or more
Inflation 29 40 34
General needs 28 23 13
Retirement and savings 8 14 19
Housing 11 11 9
Employment 11 8 6
Medical 6 7 4
Debt 4 7 6
Education 4 4 6
None 29 25 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 8. 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

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 9. Family income
Income Percent
Less than $25,000 30
$25,000-$49,999 15
$50,000-$99,999 23
$100,000 or more 32

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 10. Changes in monthly income and spending from 12 months earlier (by year)

Percent

Characteristic 2020 2021 2022
Monthly income increased 24 30 33
Monthly spending increased 20 25 40

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

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Figure 11. Total spending less than income in the prior month (by year)

Percent

Characteristic 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Less than your income 50 51 52 55 55 49

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 12. Total spending less than income in the prior month (by year and education)

Percent

Education Less than your income
2020  
Less than a high school degree 35
High school degree or GED 49
Associate degree 53
Bachelor's degree or more 65
2021  
Less than a high school degree 36
High school degree or GED 49
Some college/technical or associ 52
Bachelor's degree or more 67
2022  
Less than a high school degree 32
High school degree or GED 45
Some college/technical or associate degree 45
Bachelor's degree or more 58
--- OVERALL --- 53

Note: Among all adults. Key identities bars in order of left to right.

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Figure 13. Income varied at least occasionally from month to month (by industry)

Percent

Industry Varying income
Leisure and Hospitality 44
Construction 41
Other Services 41
Wholesale and Retail Trade 39
Transportation and Utilities 38
Natural Resources and Mining 37
Education and Health Services 30
Financial Activities 28
Manufacturing 28
Information 24
Public Administration 24
Professional and Business Services 23
Armed Forces 11

Note: Among adults who reported industry of employment.

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Figure 14. Amount of work done from home (by education)

Percent

Education None Some All
High school degree or less 84 7 9
Some college/technical or associate degree 73 12 15
Bachelor's degree or more 42 31 27

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

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Figure 15. 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)
Characteristic Percent
Freeze pay 18
Lower pay by 1% 23
Report in person 28
Lower pay by 5% 38
Lower pay by 10% 52

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

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Figure 16. Job actions taken in prior 12 months (by year)

Percent

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

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

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Figure 17. Gig activities performed
Gig activities Percent
Selling items 11
Offering short-term rentals 2
Freelance or gig work 6
Any gig activity 16

Note: Among all adults. Respondents could select multiple answers.

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Figure 18. Prices paid increased in prior 12 months (by product type)

Percent

Product type A lot Somewhat Total
Rent or mortgage 14 20 34
Medical care, medication, or health insurance 16 34 50
Home or auto insurance 18 40 58
Utilities (electricity, heating fuel, etc.) 41 44 85
Gasoline and other motor fuels 75 19 94
Food 71 25 97

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

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Figure 19. Would cover a $400 emergency expense completely using cash or its equivalent (by year)
Year Percent
2013 50
2014 53
2015 54
2016 56
2017 59
2018 61
2019 63
2020 64
2021 68
2022 63

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 20. 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

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 21. Disruptions from natural disasters in prior 12 months
Type Percent
Property damage 7
Income disruption 5
Injury or death of family or friend 3
Temporary evacuation 2
Long-term displacement 1
Any disruption 13

Note: Among all adults. Respondents could select multiple answers.

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Figure 22. Use of nonbank check cashing and money orders (by bank account ownership)
Year Unbanked Banked
2019 47 15
2020 40 12
2021 35 12
2022 31 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)
Characteristic Percent
Less than $50,000  
White 39
Black 58
Hispanic 53
$50,000-$99,999  
White 24
Black 46
Hispanic 32
$100,000 or more  
White 10
Black 25
Hispanic 18

Note: Among all 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 83
Avoid interest charges 59
Only way I could afford it 56
Did not want to use a credit card 54
Wanted a fixed number of payments 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)
Rating Percent
Don’t know 6
Very poor 20
Poor 20
Fair 27
Good 14
Excellent 6

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 26. Use of payday, pawn, auto title, and refund anticipation loans (by self-reported credit rating)
Rating Percent
Don’t know 3
Very poor 19
Poor 16
Fair 14
Good 3
Excellent 1

Note: Among all adults.

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Figure 27. Share of renters behind on rent during the year (by year and race/ethnicity)

Percent

Race/Ethnicity 2019 2021 2022
White 7 13 12
Black 14 21 26
Hispanic 12 22 24
Asian 9 8 9

Note: Among renters. Results for 2019 are based on a retrospective question asked in 2021. Key identifies bars in order from left to right.

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Figure 28. Benefits of education exceed costs (by education and age)

Percent

Education 18-29 30-44 45-59 60+
Associate degree 33 30 45 55
Bachelor's degree 58 56 65 76
Graduate or professional degree 61 65 79 85

Note: Among all adults who attended at least some college. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 29. Would now choose different field of study (by most recent educational program)

Percent

Most recent educational program Would choose different field of study
Humanities/arts 49
Social/behavioral sciences 43
Physical sciences/math 41
Education 40
Vocational/technical training 40
Undeclared/other 39
Life sciences 38
Business/management 36
Law 36
Health 31
Computer/information sciences 29
Engineering 26
Overall 37

Note: Among adults who attended at least some college. Adults who have not completed an associate or bachelor’s degree and are currently enrolled in college are excluded.

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Figure 30. 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 31 34 27 16
Associate degree 37 50 47 23
Bachelor's degree 56 60 45 32
Graduate degree 58 68 63 44

Note: Among all adults who attended at least some college. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 31. Share of borrowers with at least $25,000 of student loan debt (by race/ethnicity and education)

Percent

Characteristic $25,000 or more
Race/ethnicity  
White 45
Black 57
Hispanic 39
Asian 52
Education  
Some college or technical degree 28
Associate degree 39
Bachelor's degree 50
Graduate degree 71
Overall 47

Note: Among all adults with outstanding student loans for their own education, excluding those who don't know the amount.

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Figure 32. Forms of retirement savings among non-retirees
Characteristic Percent
Defined contributed pension 54
Savings not in retirement accounts 47
IRA 34
Defined benefit pension 20
Other retirement savings 11
Business or real estate 8
None 28

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

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Figure 33. View retirement savings plan as on track (by year)*
Year Percent
2017 38
2018 36
2019 37
2020 36
2021 40
2022 31

Note: Among non-retirees.

*Note: The Federal Reserve revised this report on August 15, 2023, to reflect corrected data. Figure 33, "View retirement savings as on track (by year)," data for the year 2017 were corrected from 28 percent to 38 percent.

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Figure 34. Mostly or very comfortable investing self-directed retirement savings (by gender and education)

Percent

Education Men Women
High school degree or less 36 22
Some college/technical or associate degree 41 27
Bachelor's degree or more 60 32

Note: Among non-retirees with self-directed retirement savings. Key identifies bars in order from top to bottom.

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Figure 35. Responses to financial literacy questions

Percent

Question topic Correct Don't know Incorrect
Interest 69 19 12
Inflation 67 24 9
Diversification 45 51 4

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

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Last Update: August 15, 2023