Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities

A family browses food pantry shelves in Austin, Texas, on March 26, 2025. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

As the 2026 midterms approach, economic issues are top of mind for voters. Many specifically mention prices and affordability as key concerns, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted this fall.

	Upper income	Middle income	Lower income	All adults
Do not currently have enough income*	26	59	82	60
Do not have rainy day funds**	20	52	77	53
Cannot pay all of their monthly bills***	7	22	49	27

As part of our ongoing work to understand how these issues are affecting people in their day-to-day lives, we asked Americans a series of questions about their financial stability and security, their ability to afford basic necessities, and their general outlook on their personal financial situation.

The survey, conducted in August, finds that many Americans are not on solid financial footing:

60% say they do not currently have enough income to lead the kind of life they want.
53% say they do not have emergency funds that would cover their expenses for three months.
27% cannot pay some of their monthly bills or can only make partial payments.
32% say they worry every day or almost every day about the cost of healthcare and the amount of debt they have.

Overall, 70% of U.S. adults say they have cut back on spending for extras – such as eating out, streaming services or other entertainment – in the past year. And 54% say they have not been able to save money for the future.

About this research

This Pew Research Center analysis looks at the financial challenges many Americans are experiencing, as well as their general outlook on their personal financial situation.

Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center does research to help the public, the media and decision-makers understand important topics. This research builds on our previous work on economic issues and personal finances.

How did we do this?

This analysis draws on a survey of 5,166 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026. Some questions were asked in a prior survey conducted July 20-Aug. 9, 2026. Only respondents who completed both surveys are included in this analysis. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The surveys are designed to represent the views of all U.S. adults.

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

Differences by income are large across nearly every measure in the survey. Financial challenges are also more common among women, Black and Hispanic adults, young adults, and people without a four-year college degree. These groups are more likely to have lower family incomes, which helps explain some of the differences.

Experiences also vary somewhat by political party, even though income gaps between the two coalitions are modest. For example, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to say:

They currently have enough income to lead the kind of life they want (46% vs. 35%)
They were able to save for the future in the past year (51% vs. 43%)
They can typically pay all their bills in full each month (78% vs. 69%)
They have rainy day funds that would cover their expenses for three months (51% vs. 45%)

Republicans are also more positive than Democrats about overall economic conditions in the country, though these ratings have slipped among Republicans since January.

These findings come from two surveys conducted this summer.

Refer to the additional charts below for more details on how answers to these questions vary by gender, race and ethnicity, age, educational attainment, income, and partisanship.

Affording basic necessities

More than four-in-ten Americans (44%) indicate they have had trouble paying for at least one of these basic necessities in the past year:

Medical care for themselves or their family (28% had trouble paying for this)
Daily transportation costs (22%)
Rent or mortgage (21%)
Food (20% say they got food from a food bank or food pantry)

	Upper income	Middle income	Lower income	All adults	Grouping
Had trouble paying for medical care*	9	27	42	28	1
Had problems paying for daily transportation costs	4	16	42	22	1
Had problems paying their rent or mortgage	5	15	39	21	1
Got food from a food bank or food pantry	2	12	42	20	1
At least one of the above	13	39	71	44	2

These hardships are especially common among people with lower family incomes: 71% experienced at least one, compared with 39% of middle-income adults and 13% of upper-income adults.

Adults who report struggling to afford at least one of these necessities in the past year are much more likely than those who did not experience these hardships to say they have:

Borrowed money from friends and family (50% vs. 8%)
Taken out a payday or other short-term loan (31% vs. 4%)

These patterns hold across income groups.

Paying for childcare

Overall, 19% of parents with children younger than 18 say there was a time in the past year when they had trouble paying for childcare. This share rises to 30% among lower-income parents, compared with 15% among those with middle incomes and just 6% of parents with upper incomes.

Financial well-being and outlook

	Extremely/Very often	Sometimes	Rarely/Never
Hopeful	37	40	23
Content	36	36	27
Stuck	30	32	38
Proud	27	37	36
Angry	18	30	50
Ashamed	13	21	65

Despite these financial challenges, Americans have a mix of negative and positive views about their personal finances.

For example, 41% say they are not too or not at all confident they’ll have enough income in the future to lead the kind of life they want, close to double the 22% who are extremely or very confident. And 30% say they often feel stuck when they think about their personal financial situation.

At the same time, 37% say they often feel hopeful and 36% feel content when they think about their finances. And 58% think they are doing better than most Americans when it comes to their ability to meet their basic expenses. This includes 85% of adults with upper incomes and 63% of those with middle incomes. (Refer to the methodology for more details about how this measure was created.)

Among adults with lower incomes, 35% think they’re better off than most Americans, while 19% think they’re worse off and 44% think they’re doing about the same.

How different groups are feeling about their personal finances

The feelings Americans express about their personal finances vary considerably by family income tier. For example, 58% of upper-income adults often feel content, while 53% feel hopeful and 45% feel proud. In turn, feeling stuck is the most common sentiment among lower-income adults (43% often feel this way).

	Upper income	Middle income	Lower income	All adults
Hopeful	53	35	30	37
Content	58	35	24	36
Stuck	12	29	43	30
Proud	45	24	19	27
Angry	7	17	28	18
Ashamed	3	12	23	13

Financial worries

For many Americans, financial concerns go beyond their immediate needs. For example, 37% say they worry every day or almost every day about being able to save for retirement.

	Every day/Almost every day	Sometimes	Rarely/Never
Being able to save for retirement	37	33	29
The cost of healthcare for themselves/their family	32	39	28
The amount of debt they have	32	28	39
Paying their bills	30	30	39
Paying their rent of mortgage	22	24	53
Affording enough food for themselves/their family	22	24	53
Losing their job	20	31	48
Losing their housing	15	21	62

About a third worry daily or almost daily about the cost of healthcare and the amount of debt they have (32% each). And 30% worry about paying their bills.

These concerns are especially common among lower-income Americans. About four-in-ten or more in this group say they worry every day or almost every day about paying their bills (49%), saving for retirement (48%), the cost of healthcare (43%), the amount of debt they have (42%), being able to buy enough food (41%), and paying their rent or mortgage (39%).

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

Additional charts

The charts below provide additional information about how Americans view their personal financial situation.

	Do not have enough income	Have enough income	Grouping
All adults	60	39	All
Men	56	43	Gender
Women	63	36	Gender
Ages 18-29	73	25	Age
30-49	67	32	Age
50-64	58	41	Age
65+	40	58	Age
White	52	46	Race
Hispanic	73	26	Race
Black	82	17	Race
Asian*	52	46	Race
Lower income	82	17	Income
Middle income	59	40	Income
Upper income	26	72	Income
High school or less	70	28	Education
Some college	64	35	Education
Bachelor’s+	45	53	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	52	46	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	64	35	Party

	Cannot pay some of their bills	Can pay all of their bills in full	Grouping
All adults	27	72	All
Men	22	78	Gender
Women	32	67	Gender
Ages 18-29	30	69	Age
30-49	31	69	Age
50-64	28	71	Age
65+	19	80	Age
White	20	79	Race
Hispanic	37	62	Race
Black	47	53	Race
Asian*	21	78	Race
Lower income	49	51	Income
Middle income	22	78	Income
Upper income	7	93	Income
High school or less	38	61	Education
Some college	29	70	Education
Bachelor’s+	14	85	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	22	78	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	31	69	Party

	Do not have rainy day funds	Have rainy day funds	Grouping
All adults	53	46	All
Men	49	51	Gender
Women	57	42	Gender
Ages 18-29	64	36	Age
30-49	60	40	Age
50-64	53	46	Age
65+	35	64	Age
White	48	52	Race
Hispanic	66	34	Race
Black	72	27	Race
Asian*	34	66	Race
Lower income	77	23	Income
Middle income	52	48	Income
Upper income	20	80	Income
High school or less	67	33	Education
Some college	59	40	Education
Bachelor’s+	35	65	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	49	51	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	55	45	Party

	%	Grouping
All adults	70	All
Men	65	Gender
Women	74	Gender
Ages 18-29	76	Age
30-49	77	Age
50-64	68	Age
65+	56	Age
White	68	Race
Hispanic	76	Race
Black	75	Race
Asian*	58	Race
Lower income	80	Income
Middle income	71	Income
Upper income	51	Income
High school or less	72	Education
Some college	73	Education
Bachelor’s+	65	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	63	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	75	Party

	%	Grouping
All adults	45	All
Men	51	Gender
Women	40	Gender
Ages 18-29	47	Age
30-49	43	Age
50-64	44	Age
65+	49	Age
White	50	Race
Hispanic	35	Race
Black	34	Race
Asian*	54	Race
Lower income	24	Income
Middle income	47	Income
Upper income	78	Income
High school or less	33	Education
Some college	41	Education
Bachelor’s+	62	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	51	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	43	Party

	%	Grouping
All adults	28	All
Men	24	Gender
Women	31	Gender
Ages 18-29	35	Age
30-49	34	Age
50-64	26	Age
65+	14	Age
White	24	Race
Hispanic	37	Race
Black	38	Race
Asian*	16	Race
Lower income	42	Income
Middle income	27	Income
Upper income	9	Income
High school or less	36	Education
Some college	29	Education
Bachelor’s+	18	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	23	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	31	Party

	%	Grouping
All adults	22	All
Men	20	Gender
Women	23	Gender
Ages 18-29	36	Age
30-49	26	Age
50-64	17	Age
65+	9	Age
White	17	Race
Hispanic	31	Race
Black	34	Race
Asian*	13	Race
Lower income	42	Income
Middle income	16	Income
Upper income	4	Income
High school or less	32	Education
Some college	24	Education
Bachelor’s+	10	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	18	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	25	Party

	%	Grouping
All adults	21	All
Men	18	Gender
Women	23	Gender
Ages 18-29	32	Age
30-49	27	Age
50-64	16	Age
65+	8	Age
White	15	Race
Hispanic	33	Race
Black	33	Race
Asian*	11	Race
Lower income	39	Income
Middle income	15	Income
Upper income	5	Income
High school or less	31	Education
Some college	21	Education
Bachelor’s+	11	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	17	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	23	Party

	%	Grouping
All adults	20	All
Men	16	Gender
Women	23	Gender
Ages 18-29	28	Age
30-49	22	Age
50-64	17	Age
65+	14	Age
White	14	Race
Hispanic	33	Race
Black	32	Race
Asian*	13	Race
Lower income	42	Income
Middle income	12	Income
Upper income	2	Income
High school or less	31	Education
Some college	20	Education
Bachelor’s+	8	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	17	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	22	Party

	%	Grouping
All adults	44	All
Men	40	Gender
Women	47	Gender
Ages 18-29	60	Age
30-49	50	Age
50-64	39	Age
65+	26	Age
White	36	Race
Hispanic	60	Race
Black	65	Race
Asian*	27	Race
Lower income	71	Income
Middle income	39	Income
Upper income	13	Income
High school or less	59	Education
Some college	47	Education
Bachelor’s+	26	Education
Rep/Lean Rep	38	Party
Dem/Lean Dem	48	Party

pewresearch

Post Views: 9