Fewer Americans use cash today than in 2015, but many still carry it

(Photoschmidt via Getty Images)

Today, 42% of U.S. adults say they don’t use cash for any purchases in a typical week. This is up from 24% in 2015.

Fewer – 12% – say they use cash to pay for all or almost all of their purchases in a typical week. Another 46% say they use cash sometimes, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from May 26 to June 1, 2026.

	All or almost all	Some	None
2026	12	46	42
2022	14	44	41
2018	18	52	29
2015	24	51	24

About this research

This Pew Research Center analysis looks at how often Americans are using and carrying cash.

Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center does research to inform the public, journalists and decision-makers. This research builds on our past work studying the cashless economy.

How did we do this?

We surveyed 9,750 U.S. adults from May 26 to June 1, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.

Here are the questions we used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.

Higher-income Americans continue to be far more likely than those with lower incomes to go cashless. Today, 58% of those in households earning $100,000 or more a year say they make none of their purchases with cash in a typical week. This is higher than the 43% of those in households earning $50,000 to $99,999 who say the same. This continues to drop steadily by income, to 24% of those making less than $30,000.

Amount	Year	<$30K	$30K-$49,999	$50K-$99,999	$100K+
All or almost all	2026	26	16	10	4
All or almost all	2022	30	20	8	4
All or almost all	2018	31	20	11	6
All or almost all	2015	38	24	14	8
None	2026	24	33	43	58
None	2022	24	35	45	59
None	2018	18	27	35	43
None	2015	15	24	30	36

On the other hand, those in lower-income households are more likely than other groups to rely on cash. About a quarter of those who make less than $30,000 annually use it for all or almost all purchases.

Younger adults stand out for never using cash. About half of adults under 30 (51%) say they don’t use cash for any of their purchases in a typical week. This drops to 46% of those 30 to 49 years old and further to 37% of those 50 to 64. Those 65 and older are the least likely to say they never use cash.

	Ages 18-29	30-49	50-64	65+
2015	29	28	20	19
2018	34	35	22	25
2022	46	49	34	33
2026	51	46	37	33

How common is carrying cash today?

Even as Americans overall move toward cashless payments, nearly half of Americans (46%) say they carry cash on them always or most of the time.

About one-in-five U.S. adults say they have cash on them sometimes. And 32% say they rarely or never do.

	Group	Always/Most of the time	Sometimes	Rarely/Never
U.S. adults	All	46	22	32
Ages 18-29	Ages	29	26	45
30-49	Ages	35	25	40
50-64	Ages	53	20	27
65+	Ages	69	16	14

But having cash on hand doesn’t always mean it’s being used. Indeed, 26% of Americans who carry cash always or most of the time say they don’t use it for any of their typical purchases.

Older adults are far more likely to say they frequently have cash on them. While a large majority of those 65 and older say this, that drops to about three-in-ten adults under 30.
The shares who often carry cash are fairly similar across household incomes, even though lower-income Americans are more likely to use it. Half of Americans in households that make $100,000 or more say they carry cash all or most of the time. For those in households who earn less, this figure is between 41% and 44%.

Note: Here are the questions we used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.

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