Share of Adults Who Would Use Savings for a $1,000 Emergency
How U.S. adults say they would pay a $1,000 emergency
Where the Share of Adults Who Would Use Savings for a $1,000 Emergency stands now
The Share of Adults Who Would Use Savings for a $1,000 Emergency was 30% in 2026.
What it means for households: U.S. Savings Rate & Emergency Fund Statistics Behind on Your Mortgage?
How the Share of Adults Who Would Use Savings for a $1,000 Emergency has moved since 2021
Reported use of savings for a $1,000 emergency
Share of adults who said they would use savings to pay a $1,000 emergency: 30% in 2026. Annual, 2021–2026.
What the Share of Adults Who Would Use Savings for a $1,000 Emergency measures
Share of Adults Who Would Use Savings for a $1,000 Emergency by year, 2021 to 2026
Every year since 2021, newest first. The change compares each year with the same year a year earlier.
The source changed how it measures this in 2023. Bankrate's January 2023 report was the first taken on the SSRS Opinion Panel, a probability-based panel answered mostly online, while earlier reports used SSRS's telephone survey, so readings before and after it were collected in different ways. 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 2026. Bankrate’s 2026 report added a separate “regular income or cash flow” answer that earlier years did not offer, and moved from an SSRS probability panel to a YouGov non-probability online panel. Bankrate’s own 2026 net for savings plus income or cash flow is 47 percent — 30 percent from savings plus 17 percent from income or cash flow — and Bankrate does not describe it as comparable with earlier years. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
| Year | Rate (%) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 | — |
| 2025 | 41 | −3 |
| 2024 | 44 | +1 |
| 2023 | 43 | — |
| 2022 | 44 | +5 |
| 2021 | 39 | — |
Annual · Bankrate Emergency Savings Report
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 households with emergency savings
What share of U.S. adults said they would use savings for a $1,000 emergency?
In Bankrate's 2026 Emergency Savings Report, 30% of U.S. adults said they would use savings to pay a $1,000 emergency.
What does this survey measure?
It records which one option adults say best describes how they would deal with a hypothetical $1,000 expense. It does not measure account balances or the share with no savings, and it counts adults, not households. It is a different question from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System's $400 emergency-expense question, so the two should not be set side by side.
Can the latest reading be compared with earlier years?
Not with years before 2026. In its 2026 report Bankrate added a 'regular income or cash flow' answer and switched from an SSRS probability panel to a YouGov opt-in online panel at the same time. Bankrate does not describe the new reading as comparable, and it does not say how much of the difference is a real change.
Does the survey predict loan defaults?
No. The survey records how respondents said they would pay for one hypothetical emergency. It does not establish a quantified or validated relationship with later loan defaults.
Sources and method for the Share of Adults Who Would Use Savings for a $1,000 Emergency
- Bankrate Emergency Savings Report We use the annual figures as published, from 2021 through 2026, with no adjustment of our own. Bankrate’s report
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.