Latest rate
21.3% Aug 2026
Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses
Share of U.S. adults reporting difficulty paying usual household expenses
Where the Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses stands now
The Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses was 21.3% in Aug 3, 2026.
What it means for households: Household Financial Health Statistics
How the Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses has moved since 2020
Survey redesigns split this series into three segments
Census Household Pulse and Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey, share of adults reporting it was somewhat or very difficult to pay usual household expenses: 21.3% in Aug 3, 2026. Biweekly, 2020–2026.
What the Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses measures
Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses by release, 2020 to 2026
Every release since 2020, newest first. The change compares each release with the same release a year earlier.
The source changed how it measures this in Jun 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. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
The source changed how it measures this in Mar 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. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
| Release | Rate (%) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 21.3 | — |
| Mar 2026 | 22.7 | — |
| Jun 2025 | 19.8 | — |
| Sep 2024 | 37.1 | −0.2 |
| Aug 2024 | 37.4 | −1.5 |
| Jul 2024 | 37.4 | −0.4 |
| Jun 2024 | 37.0 | −1.6 |
| May 2024 | 36.5 | −2.0 |
| Apr 2024 | 36.4 | −2.1 |
| Apr 2024 | 35.7 | −3.0 |
| Mar 2024 | 36.2 | −2.3 |
| Feb 2024 | 36.0 | −3.7 |
| Oct 2023 | 40.8 | −0.1 |
| Oct 2023 | 41.2 | +1.1 |
| Sep 2023 | 37.3 | −2.8 |
| Aug 2023 | 38.9 | −1.2 |
| Jul 2023 | 37.8 | −2.2 |
| Jun 2023 | 38.6 | −0.5 |
| May 2023 | 38.5 | +4.1 |
| Apr 2023 | 38.7 | +4.6 |
| Mar 2023 | 38.5 | +4.2 |
| Feb 2023 | 39.7 | +7.4 |
| Jan 2023 | 39.5 | +8.2 |
| Dec 2022 | 40.0 | +9.5 |
| Nov 2022 | 39.5 | +9.0 |
| Oct 2022 | 40.9 | +12.3 |
| Sep 2022 | 40.1 | +11.9 |
| Aug 2022 | 40.1 | +12.5 |
| Jul 2022 | 40.0 | +12.9 |
| Jun 2022 | 39.1 | +11.8 |
| May 2022 | 34.4 | +7.7 |
| Apr 2022 | 34.1 | +5.2 |
| Mar 2022 | 34.3 | +0.5 |
| Feb 2022 | 32.3 | −3.1 |
| Jan 2022 | 31.3 | −3.8 |
| Dec 2021 | 30.5 | −5.1 |
| Oct 2021 | 28.6 | −3.6 |
| Sep 2021 | 28.2 | −3.7 |
| Sep 2021 | 27.6 | −5.1 |
| Aug 2021 | 26.9 | −5.0 |
| Aug 2021 | 26.7 | −5.2 |
| Aug 2021 | 27.6 | −4.3 |
| Jul 2021 | 27.1 | — |
| Jun 2021 | 28.3 | — |
| Jun 2021 | 27.3 | — |
| May 2021 | 26.4 | — |
| May 2021 | 26.7 | — |
| Apr 2021 | 26.2 | — |
| Mar 2021 | 28.9 | — |
| Mar 2021 | 33.8 | — |
| Mar 2021 | 34.6 | — |
| Feb 2021 | 34.9 | — |
| Feb 2021 | 35.4 | — |
| Jan 2021 | 35.1 | — |
| Dec 2020 | 37.5 | — |
| Dec 2020 | 35.6 | — |
| Nov 2020 | 34.5 | — |
| Nov 2020 | 33.7 | — |
| Oct 2020 | 33.1 | — |
| Oct 2020 | 32.2 | — |
| Sep 2020 | 31.9 | — |
| Sep 2020 | 32.7 | — |
| Aug 2020 | 31.9 | — |
Biweekly · U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey
Counties with the highest safety net and buffer scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the safety net and buffer part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choctaw County, OK | 94.8 |
| 2 | Stewart County, GA | 94.2 |
| 3 | Noxubee County, MS | 94.2 |
| 4 | Hudspeth County, TX | 94 |
| 5 | Brooks County, TX | 94 |
| 6 | Lake County, TN | 94 |
| 7 | Duval County, TX | 93.9 |
| 8 | Ripley County, MO | 93.5 |
| 9 | Dunklin County, MO | 93.3 |
| 10 | Quitman County, GA | 93.2 |
Questions about the Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses
What share of Americans have trouble paying usual household expenses?
In the August 2026 collection, 21.3% of adults said paying usual household expenses had been somewhat or very difficult for their household over the last two months. That leaves out adults who said it was a little difficult, so the share reporting any difficulty is larger.
Is household-expense difficulty getting worse?
The current data cannot say yet. The March 2026 collection was the first on the current survey design, and earlier readings came from different questions or samples, so they are not comparable.
Does this count households?
No. Census weights count adults 18 and older in housing units, each carrying their household's answer. A count of adults is not a count of households, and people in group quarters, such as dorms and nursing homes, are outside the survey.
How does Census measure this?
Census mails invitations to a sample of addresses, and most people answer online. Answers are weighted to Census population controls. The Household Pulse Survey ran in weekly, two-week and then four-week cycles from 2020 to September 2024 and asked about the last seven days. The Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey asks about the last two months and, in 2026, collects in alternate months. Tables come out on no fixed schedule, and Census re-posts them when it corrects the weights.
Sources and method for the Difficulty Paying Usual Household Expenses
- U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey We use the biweekly figures as published, from Aug 31, 2020 through Aug 3, 2026, with no adjustment of our own. U.S. Census Bureau doesn’t adjust this rate for the season, so compare a period with the same period a year earlier. U.S. Census Bureau’s report (1) U.S. Census Bureau’s report (2)
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.