Poll: 4 in 10 Americans’ Financial Situations Worsened in Past Six Months

More than four in ten (41 percent) Americans say their personal finances have worsened in the past six months, a new Rasmussen Reports survey found.

Additionally, 32 percent expect their personal finances to tank further, while 25 percent expect an improvement, and 36 percent expect conditions to stay the same, the survey found. Just 17 percent say their finances have improved in the past six months, and 38 percent say their situation has stayed about the same.

The survey further found that 28 percent of American adults have been late at least once in the past six months in making a major monthly payment, like rent or mortgage, a car payment, or utility bills. In contrast, 65 percent say they have not missed any payments.

“Twenty-five percent of whites, 40 percent of blacks and 28 percent of other minorities have been late at least once in making a major monthly payment in the past six months. Whites are less likely to expect a worsening financial situation in the new six months,” the survey found, continuing:

Adults under 40 – and particularly men under 40 – are much more likely than their elders to have made late payment on a major bill in the past six months. At the same time, however, older Americans are more likely to say their personal financial situation has gotten worse in the past six months.

Rasmussen Reports did not find much difference between men and women in how they answered the questions, although men are more likely to say their finances remained stable in recent months and are more likely to expect their finances to stay the same in the coming months.

By political affiliation, Democrats (26 percent) are more likely than Republicans (16 percent) and unaffiliated voters (nine percent) to say their financial situation has improved in the past six months.

“However, Democrats (36 percent) are also more likely than Republicans (28 percent) or the unaffiliated (20 percent) to have been late on a major payment in the past six months,” the survey report notes.

Married adults and adults with children at home are also more likely than single or childless Americans to expect their finances to worsen in the next six months. Unsurprisingly, Americans who make annual incomes upwards of $100,000 are more likely to say their finances have improved, while those making under $50,000 say their situations have worsened.

“Among those who say their financial situation has gotten better in the past six months, 67 percent expect it to get even better in the next six months,” according to the poll report.

Rasmussen Reports conducted the survey with 1,010 American adults between December 6-7 and 10, 2023. The margin of sampling error is ± three percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.