---
title: "Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses"
slug: the-pinch
summary: "In Census's August 2026 survey, 21.3% of U.S. adults said it had been somewhat or very difficult for their household to pay usual expenses over the last two months."
category: "Who's Hurting"
unit: percent
frequency: biweekly
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: 21.3
latest_period: "2026-08-03"
trend: unknown
trend_suppressed: "series_break"
last_updated: "2026-11-04T21:30:35Z"
source: "U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey"
source_url: https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html
source_urls:
  - https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html
  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/hhp/
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-pinch/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-pinch/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses.\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-pinch/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses.\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-pinch/."
---

# Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses

Also tracked as The Pinch.

> In Census's August 2026 survey, 21.3% of U.S. adults said it had been somewhat or very difficult for their household to pay usual expenses over the last two months.

## Current Reading

As of August 2026, Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses is **21.3%**.

## What Changed

- 21.3% of U.S. adults found it somewhat or very difficult to pay usual household expenses over the last two months (Census, August 2026).
- Census changed the survey design after September 2024 and again in March 2026; readings from different designs are not comparable.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-08-03 | 21.3% |
| 2026-03-30 | 22.7% |
| 2025-06-25 | 19.8% |
| 2024-09-16 | 37.1% |
| 2024-08-19 | 37.4% |
| 2024-07-22 | 37.4% |
| 2024-06-24 | 37% |
| 2024-05-27 | 36.5% |
| 2024-04-29 | 36.4% |
| 2024-04-01 | 35.7% |
| 2024-03-04 | 36.2% |
| 2024-02-05 | 36% |

## Historical Context

This series is not comparable end to end, so no all-time extreme or long-run average is published for it. The source changed what it measures on the following date(s):

- June 2025: The Household Pulse Survey ended in September 2024. Census moved the question into the Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey, which followed a panel of the same people and asked about the last two months instead of the last seven days. Readings before and after ask a different question of a different sample. Source: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/data.html
- March 2026: Census went back to a fresh sample for each collection, after following a panel of the same people in 2025. The question still asks about the last two months, but readings before and after sit on different samples. Source: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2026/demo/hhp/2603.html

Compare readings only within a single segment. Subtracting across one of these dates measures the change in method, not in household conditions.

## Methodology

This indicator carries observations every two weeks and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey
- [https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html](https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html)
- [https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/hhp/](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/hhp/)

Data retrieved: 2026-11-04T21:30:35Z

## Related Indicators

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

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

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

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-pinch/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-pinch/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-pinch/.

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.