A new poll from the Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that as household expenses outpace earnings, many Americans are expressing concern about their financial futures. What’s more, for most of them, household debt has either risen in the last year or has not gone away.
About two in three Americans say their household expenses have risen over the last year, but only about one in four say their income has increased in the same period. About eight in 10 Americans say their overall household debt is higher or about the same as it was a year ago. About half say they currently have credit card debt; four in 10 are dealing with auto loans; and about one in four have medical debt. Just 15% say their household savings have increased over the last year.
Relatively few Americans say they’re very or extremely confident that they could pay an unexpected medical expense (26%) or have enough money for retirement (18%). Only about one-third are extremely or very confident their current financial situation will allow them to keep up with expenses, though an additional 42% say they’re somewhat confident.
About three in 10 Americans say they’ve foregone a major purchase because of higher interest rates in the last year. Nearly one in four U.S. adults have student debt, with the pandemic-era payment pause on federal loans ending this month, contributing to the crunch.
A slight majority of all Americans polled (54%) describe their household’s financial situation as good, which is about the same as it’s been for the last year but down from 63% in March 2022. Older Americans are much more confident in their current finances than younger Americans. Just 39% of 18- to 29-year-olds describe their household finances as good, compared to a majority (58%) of those who are 30 and older.
Among those who are retired, three in 10 say they are highly confident that there’s enough saved for their retirement, about four in 10 are somewhat confident, and 31% are not very confident or not confident at all.
