Economics
State of U.S. Consumer Finances
Report summary
Consumers are financially healthy, but downside risks are growing
Both the savings flow and stock have decreased in 2024 compared to the previous three years. At the same time, a growing share of consumers report having outstanding credit card debt along with leaving their credit card balances unpaid for longer. On the bright side, consumers are increasingly able to cover their emergency expenses with cash or equivalents, rather than relying on debt.
Key Takeaways
- After ramping up savings through the pandemic, a smaller share of consumers have money left over each month while their stock of savings has dwindled.
- A growing share of consumers owe outstanding credit card debt and are reporting longer times with unpaid balances.
- Consumers are increasingly likely to cover their emergency expenses with cash or equivalents and less likely to rely on debt.
Methodology
Morning Consult data featured in this report draws from monthly U.S. consumer spending survey, monthly U.S. consumer credit survey, quarterly survey of household emergency expenses and decisionmaking. All survey interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate populations of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by educational attainment.
Data can be access through trackers below as well as the data download tables:
About the author
Sofia Baig is an economist at decision intelligence company Morning Consult, where she works on descriptive and predictive analysis that leverages Morning Consult’s proprietary high-frequency data. Previously, she worked for the Federal Reserve Board as a quantitative analyst, focusing on topics related to monetary policy and bank stress testing. She received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Pomona College and a master’s degree in mathematics and statistics from Georgetown University.
Follow her on Twitter @_SofiaBaig_For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected]
