More Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck this year than in 2023—here's why (2024)

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More Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck this year than in 2023—here's why? ›

More Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck this year than in 2023—here's why. More Americans may be struggling to make ends meet. A majority, 65%, say they live paycheck to paycheck, according to CNBC and SurveyMonkey's recent Your Money International Financial Security Survey, which polled 498 U.S. adults ...

Why the increase in spending? Respondents to our 2023 survey cited high monthly expenses—including rent or mortgage, insurance, utilities and more—as the primary cause of living paycheck to paycheck. Yet examining the data by generation highlights some age-related patterns.

And 2023 was no different. As of November, over 60% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, with 20% struggling to pay their monthly bills. It's a trend that has come to stay, according to Amber Carroll, senior vice president of membership and lifecycle strategy at LendingClub.

Americans say their financial situation worsened in 2023, what will 2024 bring? More than half of Americans (53%) say their financial situation worsened in 2023. 69% of Americans have financial regrets from 2023. The most common regret is not saving money (31%).

More than half of Americans earning over $100,000 a year live paycheck to paycheck. So what's going on? Many experts point to a phenomenon called lifestyle inflation as one of the culprits. Lifestyle inflation, or lifestyle creep, is the pattern of spending a little more as a person's income increases.

Professor Alex Bryson of UCL — a leading expert in employment studies — suggests that the top quarter of US workers are able to take more advantage of market-set wages. “Workers have high bargaining power because of their skill set — and incentive-based pay is much more common,” he says.

There are several reasons why millionaires may live paycheck to paycheck. Some may have high-cost lifestyles, such as expensive homes, cars, and vacations. Others may have large amounts of debt, such as student loans or credit card debt. Still, others may simply be poor at managing their money.

Key Findings. 48.6% of Americans consider themselves to be “broke,” and 66.2% feel they are “living paycheck to paycheck.” There is a gender gap in the results: Females are more likely to consider themselves “broke” at 55.8%, compared to males at 41.1%.

The COVID-19 pandemic sent a painful shockwave through both the US and the global economy.

Only 18% of individual Americans make more than $100,000 a year, according to 2023 data from careers website Zippia. About 34% of U.S. households earn more than $100,000 a year, according to Zippia.

Why are Americans hurting financially right now? ›

After inflation, high interest rates, unattainable housing prices and other economic factors, 50 percent of U.S. adults say their overall personal financial situation is worse than it was in November 2020, according to October 2023 Bankrate polling.

The survey also found that 37% of Americans are behind on monthly bills, which jumps to 53% among parents with young children. Additionally, 61% reported that inflation has impacted their ability to afford their lifestyle. "Yes, inflation seems to have peaked, but it hasn't gone away," Schulz continued.

Our fiscal health is declining in large part because of rapidly growing debt levels relative to the size of the U.S. economy. Large annual budget deficits drive debt growth, as the government borrows to finance spending that exceeds revenues. For example, the federal budget deficit in FY 2023 was $1.7 trillion.

Amid rocketing housing costs, rising inflation and other economic pressures, Americans are feeling the pinch. Wages don't always increase in tandem with higher living costs, leading to a widespread trend of living paycheck to paycheck.

Bottom Line. With $100,000 you should budget for a retirement income of around $5,000 to $8,000 on top of Social Security, depending on how you have invested your money. Much more than this will likely cause you to run out of money within 25 – 30 years, which is potentially within the lifespan of the average retiree.

Most American households have at least $1,000 in checking or savings accounts. But only about 12% have more than $100,000 in checking and savings.

78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Basically, that means almost 8 out of 10 people probably can't afford the home they're living in and the car they're driving. They might not even have the cash to cover the next emergency that pops up. Your income is your most important wealth-building tool.

Those living paycheck to paycheck devote their salaries predominantly to expenses. Living paycheck to paycheck may also mean living with limited or no savings and refer to people who are at greater financial risk if they were suddenly unemployed.

Sizable portions of high earners live paycheck to paycheck.

The increase in consumers living this financial lifestyle is evident across income brackets. The share of consumers living this financial lifestyle and annually earning more than $100,000 has increased from last January, currently standing at 48%.

As of May 2023, more than 1 in 5 Americans have no emergency savings. Nearly one in three (30 percent) people in 2023 had some emergency savings, but not enough to cover three months of expenses. This is up from 27 percent of people in 2022. Note: Not all percentages total 100 due to rounding.