Money The reality of living paycheck to paycheck
The cost of living crisis continues to put a heavy financial strain on many Americans. In November 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that over the past year the price of everyday essentials and household bills grew by 2.7%. In contrast, the real average hourly earnings for all employees increased by just 0.8% between November 2024, and November 2025. [1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 'Consumer Price Index Summary', 2025 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm [2] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 'Real Earnings Summary', 2025 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm
The gap between rising expenses and slower wage growth means many households may find themselves working with tighter budgets. To gauge how many Americans have felt the strain of living paycheck to paycheck over the past 12 months, a survey of 1,183 U.S. adults, conducted on behalf of Self Financial, explored the financial impact this situation has had on their lives.
The study also examined related factors, including a participants’ emergency savings, how financially comfortable they feel, whether they have ever gone into debt as a result of living paycheck to paycheck, and whether they have ever taken on additional income to make ends meet.
Key findings from the study:
- Most respondents (88.7%) said they are currently, or have been, living paycheck to paycheck at some point in the past 12 months.
- For those living paycheck to paycheck, 39.2% usually end the month with less than $50, and 34.7% have nothing left at all.
- Living paycheck to paycheck caused almost two thirds (60.6%) to fall into debt.
- Almost all respondents who have lived paycheck to paycheck (95.4%) have had to dip into their savings to cover everyday expenses in the last 12 months.
- One in 20 (4.9%) living paycheck to paycheck couldn’t save any money in the past year.
- Almost two thirds (61%) of participants living paycheck to paycheck have missed payments at some point in the last 12 months.
How common is living paycheck to paycheck?
The survey asked participants what the concept of living “paycheck to paycheck” means to them. For 44.4%, it meant having no money left over after paying bills and necessities each month. In comparison, 39.6% said living paycheck to paycheck means having only a small amount left over that is not enough to build savings.
According to the Bank of America Institute, living paycheck to paycheck is defined as a household where necessity spending exceeds 95% of total household income, leaving very little for discretionary spending or saving. [3] Bank of America Institute, 'Paycheck to paycheck: what, who, where, why?', 2024 https://institute.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/economic-insights/paycheck-to-paycheck-lower-income-households.pdf
Nearly nine in ten (88.7%) have lived paycheck to paycheck at some point in the last year
A staggering 88.7% of those surveyed reported that they are currently, or have been, living paycheck to paycheck at some point over the past 12 months.
And it appears this issue isn’t confined to one income bracket. Among those with a yearly personal income of $25,000 to $49,999, 91.3% said they had lived paycheck to paycheck in the past 12 months and for those earning $50,000 to $74,999 the stat was 93.6%.
Among respondents who admitted to living paycheck to paycheck in the past 12 months, 39.2% said they usually end the month with less than $50 remaining. An additional 34.7% reported having nothing left at all.
| How much money respondents have left at the end of the month | |
|---|---|
| Amount | Percentage |
| $0 - I usually break even | 34.7% |
| Less than $50 | 39.2% |
| $51 - $199 | 6.3% |
| $200 - $499 | 8.0% |
| $500 - $999 | 6.4% |
| $1,000 - $1,999 | 3.1% |
| $2,000 - $4,999 | 0.6% |
| $5,000 or more | 0.5% |
| I fall into debt after paying bills | 1.3% |
The consequences of living paycheck to paycheck
It seems financial pressures extend beyond routine expenses. Among those who said they had lived paycheck to paycheck in the past 12 months, 60.6% reported falling into debt overall, which could be a result of unexpected costs or other financial commitments. On average, these participants accumulated $739 in debt as a result.
Living paycheck to paycheck has caused 60.6% to fall into debt.
In addition, 95.4% of respondents who have lived paycheck to paycheck said they have had to dip into their savings to cover everyday expenses.
95.4% of people living paycheck to paycheck admitted to using their savings to cover everyday expenses in the last 12 months.
Among those who reported having to use their savings to cover everyday expenses, most said this was not a frequent occurrence. In fact, 40.7% said they had only done so once or twice over the past 12 months, while 37% reported doing so just once.
However, nearly one in ten (9.5%) admitted to doing this three to four times, and an additional 6.1% said they had done it five to six times. Additionally, 3.6% reported dipping into their savings more than ten times over the past year.
Over one in ten (11%) haven’t been able to save money for half of the year
When asked how often they had been unable to set aside any savings over the past 12 months, 11% of those living paycheck to paycheck said this had affected them for five to six months, roughly half the year. Another 41.5% reported being unable to save for three to four months, while 34.9% said it had impacted them for just one to two months.
One in 20 (4.9%) people living paycheck to paycheck haven’t been able to save any money in the past year.
On the other hand, one in 20 (4.9%) said they had not been able to save any money at all in the past year. Only 0.1% of this group said they had not needed to save because they already had enough set aside.
Over half (55.1%) still think the “American Dream” is still a reality
Investopedia defines the American Dream as “the belief that anyone can achieve success through hard work in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone.” [4] Investopedia, 'American Dream: The History, Evolution, and Definition', 2025 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-dream.asp Despite living paycheck to paycheck in the last 12 months, it appears this has not deterred participants from dreaming about their financial freedom as over half (55.1%) said they still believed the American dream was achievable given their circumstances.
However, 44% said they didn’t feel like this was a realistic milestone for them to aim for. Broader research by the Pew Research Center in 2024 supports this sense of doubt, showing that 41% of Americans believe the American Dream was once attainable but no longer is. [5] Pew Research Center, 'Americans are split over the state of the American dream', 2024 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/02/americans-are-split-over-the-state-of-the-american-dream
The impact of unexpected costs
When asked whether they could cover an unexpected $500 expense without having to borrow or use credit, 39.7% of respondents living paycheck to paycheck said they did not believe they could. When asked about their current emergency savings, the overall average was $483. Despite this, almost two-fifths (37.7%) reported having no emergency savings at all, and an additional 37.9% said they had less than $50 set aside.
Men had a higher average amount of emergency savings compared to women ($1,877 versus $755). This aligns with another survey that shows the median savings amount for men is $1,000, whereas women have half of that. [6] Empower, '37% can’t afford an unexpected expense over $400: new Empower research', 2024 https://www.empower.com/the-currency/money/over-1-in-5-americans-have-no-emergency-savings-research
| Average amount of emergency savings men vs women | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Average Savings |
| Women | $755 |
| Men | $1,877 |
Almost three in five (58.2%) admit to missing payments because they were relying on their paycheck
Among all participants, almost three in five respondents (58.2%) said they have missed or made late payments at some point in the past year due to relying on their paycheck to cover bills. This number rises to 61% of those who reported living paycheck to paycheck in the last 12 months.
Almost two thirds (61%) of participants living paycheck to paycheck have missed payments at some point in the last 12 months.
Among participants who had lived paycheck to paycheck in the past 12 months and reported missing or making late payments, almost a third (31.4%) said it happened only once, while 36.7% said it occurred twice.
| How often have participants missed or made late payments as a result of living paycheck to paycheck | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Percentage |
| Once | 31.4% |
| Twice | 36.7% |
| Three times | 14.1% |
| Four times | 9.2% |
| Five times | 3.9% |
| Six to 10 times | 2.3% |
| More than 10 times | 2.2% |
| I have never missed or made late payments | 0.2% |
How participants make ends meet
The survey asked participants who have recently lived paycheck to paycheck whether they have ever taken on additional income, such as a second job or freelance work, and over half (51.6%) stated they had.
Among this group, 46.1% said they pursued freelance or contract work, while another 40.1% took on a part-time job with another employer. For almost half (46.4%), they relied on this additional income for six to twelve months, while 5.8% depended on it for more than two years.
Additionally, 51.2% reported that this extra income helped somewhat to reduce or avoid living paycheck to paycheck, and 41.5% said it helped to overcome their financial struggles completely. On the other hand, 5.4% said it didn’t really help all that much and 1.7% said it didn’t help at all.
Methodology
A survey was conducted on behalf of Self Financial asking 1,183 U.S. adults about their experiences of living paycheck to paycheck. The questions delved into their levels of emergency savings, reliability on debt to cover everyday expenses and how they supported themselves during this period.
The survey was conducted between 10/22/2025 and 10/24/2025.
Demographics
Age
- 18-28 - 5.6%
- 29-44 - 88.5%
- 45-60 - 4.9%
- 61-79 - 0.9%
- 80+ - 0.1%
Gender
- Female - 73.7%
- Male - 26%
- Non-binary - 0.2%
- Prefer not to say - 0.1%
Yearly personal income level
- $0 - 0.5%
- $1 - $9,999 - 2.5%
- $10,000 - $24,999 - 4.1%
- $25,000 - $49,999 - 41.9%
- $50,000 - $74,999 - 41.1%
- $75,000 - $99,999 - 6.2%
- $100,000 - $149,999 - 2.3%
- $150,00 and greater - 0.7%
- Prefer not to say - 0.8%
Sources
- [1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 'Consumer Price Index Summary', 2025 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
- [2] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 'Real Earnings Summary', 2025 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm
- [3] Bank of America Institute, 'Paycheck to paycheck: what, who, where, why?', 2024 https://institute.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/economic-insights/paycheck-to-paycheck-lower-income-households.pdf
- [4] Investopedia, 'American Dream: The History, Evolution, and Definition', 2025 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-dream.asp
- [5] Pew Research Center, 'Americans are split over the state of the American dream', 2024 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/02/americans-are-split-over-the-state-of-the-american-dream
- [6] Empower, '37% can’t afford an unexpected expense over $400: new Empower research', 2024 https://www.empower.com/the-currency/money/over-1-in-5-americans-have-no-emergency-savings-research
