---
title: "SHED Emergency Savings Survey"
slug: the-400-test
summary: "37% of U.S. adults would not pay a $400 emergency entirely with cash or its equivalent"
category: "Savings"
unit: percent
frequency: annual
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: 37.0
latest_period: "2025"
trend: stable
last_updated: "2026-07-20T00:00:00Z"
source: "Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking"
source_url: https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). SHED Emergency Savings Survey [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"SHED Emergency Savings Survey.\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"SHED Emergency Savings Survey.\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/."
---

# SHED Emergency Savings Survey

Also tracked as The $400 Test.

> 37% of U.S. adults would not pay a $400 emergency entirely with cash or its equivalent

## Current Reading

As of 2025, SHED Emergency Savings Survey is **37%** (stable).

would not pay a $400 emergency entirely with cash or its equivalent

## What Changed

- In the Fed's fall 2025 survey, 37% of U.S. adults would not pay a $400 emergency expense entirely with cash or its equivalent. The share was the same in 2024.
- The share has been the same as the year before for three years in a row.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2025 | 37% |
| 2024 | 37% |
| 2023 | 37% |
| 2022 | 37% |
| 2021 | 32% |
| 2020 | 36% |
| 2019 | 37% |
| 2018 | 39% |
| 2017 | 41% |
| 2016 | 44% |
| 2015 | 46% |
| 2014 | 47% |

## Historical Context

- Peak since 2013: **50%** in 2013
- Low since 2013: **32%** in 2021
- Pre-pandemic average (2015-01 – 2019-12): **41.4%**
- Post-pandemic average (2020-01 – 2024-12): **35.8%**

## Methodology

This indicator carries annual observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking — [https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm](https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm)

Data retrieved: 2026-07-20T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [the-safety-net](https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-safety-net/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/the-400-test.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/the-400-test.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-400-test.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-400-test.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). SHED Emergency Savings Survey [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "SHED Emergency Savings Survey." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "SHED Emergency Savings Survey." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-400-test/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.