Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities

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.

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.

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.

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)

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

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).

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.

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.