Household Affordability Tracker
See how household costs, income and financial strain vary across the country.
United States Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses (March 2026 onward survey)
21.3%
percent 2026-08-03
Data from U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse and Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Surveys
Change, 2026-03-30 to 2026-08-03
−1.4 percentage points
Changes over time
There isn’t enough history for a chart. The available values are below.
Available history
| Data period | United States (%) |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-03 | 21.3 |
| 2026-03-30 | 22.7 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse and Household Trends and Outlook Pulse SurveysDownload data (CSV)
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Starting rate: Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 7.32% for the week of 2026-10-22. The inputs are editable assumptions, not a loan offer.
Sources and method
U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse and Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Surveys supplies the figures shown.
The selected source’s unit, population and data period determine what the figure describes. The measures are not added into a total household budget.
About these figures
Survey respondents, aggregate income and utility disconnection events have different denominators. These measures are not added together.
Place comparisons use the same data period. An older common period is named beside the comparison. A missing or withheld value is never changed to zero.
The CSV includes the original source notes, annotations and estimate margins where supplied. Original source data remain subject to their publishers’ terms.
We write with AI tools. Every figure comes from the data and sources named on this page, and automated checks compare it with them before it's published.