U.S. household financial health
Who has gained room to spend, and whose financial cushion is shrinking?
MacroRoom·Overview by MacroRoom, from BEA, BLS and the Federal Reserve
A household can earn more while using up its savings; another can gain wealth without receiving more cash. Follow purchasing power, financial cushion, reported pressure and wealth across U.S. households, then check whether those conditions appear in spending. Income and wealth are separate views, and every reading keeps its own population and date.
These are the latest available readings from different releases. Income quintiles, survey income bands and wealth percentiles are not interchangeable. Open a measure to see its levels, history and exact definition.
DataFour measures, each at its own latest period
Household purchasing power
Mean real disposable personal income per household, reconstructed from BEA's published mean and quintile shares.
| Group | Level | Through |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 20% | $38,700 | 2024 |
| 20th–40th percentiles | $68,300 | 2024 |
| Middle 20% | $94,500 | 2024 |
| 60th–80th percentiles | $129,300 | 2024 |
| Top 20% | $326,300 | 2024 |
Household cash cushion
Deposits divided by the source's household count, deflated with the quarterly average PCE price index.
| Group | Level | Through |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 20% | $13,400 | Q2 2026 |
| 20th–40th percentiles | $25,900 | Q2 2026 |
| Middle 20% | $38,400 | Q2 2026 |
| 60th–80th percentiles | $58,700 | Q2 2026 |
| 80th–99th percentiles | $191,700 | Q2 2026 |
| Top 1% | $1,630,000 | Q2 2026 |
Household financial pressure
Share reporting better finances than a year earlier minus share reporting worse finances; trailing three-month average.
| Group | Level | Through |
|---|---|---|
| Under $50,000 | −23.1 pp | Oct 2025 |
| $50,000–$100,000 | −9.3 pp | Oct 2025 |
| Over $100,000 | 2.5 pp | Oct 2025 |
Household wealth
Assets less liabilities per household, in constant purchasing-power dollars.
| Group | Level | Through |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 20% | $144,900 | Q2 2026 |
| 20th–40th percentiles | $207,900 | Q2 2026 |
| Middle 20% | $393,100 | Q2 2026 |
| 60th–80th percentiles | $685,300 | Q2 2026 |
| 80th–99th percentiles | $2,607,700 | Q2 2026 |
| Top 1% | $26,373,500 | Q2 2026 |
Does spending move with it?
Compare the financial readings with actual retail spending. The spending source has its own income bands and covers retail excluding automobiles.
Real retail spending growth
Published real retail spending excluding automobiles: source year-over-year index minus 100.
NY Fed EHI household income bands: under $40k, $40k–$125k, $125k+.
Receipt-panel estimates published on the EHI release cycle. Covers retail excluding autos, not all consumption or a particular brand. Changes in this growth rate are percentage-point changes in momentum.
Loading history…
| Group | Through | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $40,000 | Apr 2026 | −3.1% | −10.8 pp |
| $40,000–$125,000 | Apr 2026 | −2.3% | −8.8 pp |
| $125,000+ | Apr 2026 | −1.0% | −6.5 pp |
Component data
Accessible chart data
Historical values load with the chart.
Source: Survey of Consumer Expectations, © 2013–2026 Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY). The SCE data are available without charge at the New York Fed and may be used subject to license terms posted there. FRBNY disclaims any responsibility for this analysis and interpretation of Survey of Consumer Expectations data.
Methodology
Four independent readings
This overview joins four constructed measures. They retain their units and do not combine into a single health score. The bar charts compare annual growth in real group means, except financial pressure, which shows the three-month average balance of better-off and worse-off survey responses.
Green and red distinguish positive and negative readings relative to zero. They do not classify households as healthy or unhealthy. A group can improve from a weak starting point or deteriorate while retaining substantial resources.
Income and wealth
Income describes a flow; net worth describes accumulated assets less liabilities. The wealth monitor lets you switch rankings and inspect the top 0.1% by net worth. That percentile is not a fixed-dollar definition of ultra-high net worth. Group membership can change over time, and group means do not describe every household.
Use as evidence about demand
Choose the households relevant to a business under an explicit customer hypothesis. Compare purchasing power with cash reserves and financial pressure, then check category spending and the company’s own disclosures. Broad retail spending does not identify customers of a particular brand. A divergence is a reason to investigate, not a causal attribution or sales forecast.
Release timing
Monthly, quarterly and annual sources keep separate dates. In particular, public survey microdata lag national chart releases, and the income-specific research CPI is released annually despite containing monthly observations. Weekly refresh checks do not create new source observations.
Inputs and sources
Retrieved 2026-09-23
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Retrieved 2026-09-23
Download
MacroRoom’s constructed measures, with observation periods, group definitions, units and source links:
Published institutional supporting series link to their original source downloads on each measure’s page.
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