Our Data Sources

The American Distress Index draws on 96 indicators from 39 sources — federal agencies, Federal Reserve banks, industry reports, and academic research. Every data point is publicly available and independently verifiable. No proprietary data, no paywalled sources, no models.

Federal Government

Federal Reserve

Auto

16 indicators

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors publishes bank supervision data, the Survey of Consumer Finances, the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS), and ...

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Auto

14 indicators

The BLS produces the Consumer Price Index, employment situation reports, JOLTS, and wage data that drive the ADI's Cost Pressure and Labor Market components.

U.S. Census Bureau

Parsed

4 indicators

The Census Bureau conducts the Household Pulse Survey and Business Trends and Outlook Survey, providing real-time measures of household financial hardship an...

U.S. Courts

Parsed

4 indicators

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes quarterly bankruptcy filing statistics — the foundation for the ADI's Legal Filings indicators.

Department of Labor

Auto

2 indicators

The Department of Labor publishes initial and continuing unemployment claims — the ADI's primary measure of income disruption in the Labor Market component.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Parsed

2 indicators

The CFPB publishes consumer credit market reports, complaint data, and financial well-being indices used to track household financial stress.

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Auto

1 indicator

The BEA produces national income and product accounts including the personal savings rate and disposable personal income — key inputs to the ADI's Buffer Dep...

USDA

Parsed

1 indicator

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service administers SNAP (food stamps) and publishes enrollment data that tracks household food insecurity — a direct measure of ...

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Parsed

1 indicator

HUD publishes the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, providing point-in-time counts of homelessness — the most severe outcome of household financial distress.

Energy Information Administration

Parsed

1 indicator

The EIA publishes energy price data and utility disconnection statistics that feed the ADI's Cost Pressure indicators.

Department of Education

Parsed

1 indicator

The Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office publishes student loan portfolio data including delinquency and default rates.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Parsed

1 indicator

CMS publishes monthly Medicaid and CHIP enrollment data — a countercyclical indicator that rises as household financial distress increases.

FDIC

Parsed

1 indicator

The FDIC conducts the National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, measuring financial exclusion as an indicator of household distress.

Federal Reserve System

Industry & Research

ATTOM Data Solutions

Parsed

2 indicators

ATTOM publishes monthly foreclosure filing data including pre-foreclosure notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions — key Legal Filings indicators ...

Vanguard

Parsed

2 indicators

Vanguard's annual How America Saves report and hardship withdrawal data track retirement account stress — a leading indicator that households are depleting l...

Challenger, Gray & Christmas

Parsed

2 indicators

Challenger publishes monthly job cut announcements and tracks layoffs by industry — an early warning indicator for labor market disruption before unemploymen...

Bank of America Institute

Parsed

2 indicators

The Bank of America Institute publishes anonymized transaction data on consumer spending and savings behavior, providing real-time measures of household fina...

Indeed

Auto

2 indicators

Indeed publishes job posting data and hiring trends that provide real-time measures of labor market demand, complementing official BLS employment statistics.

CoreLogic / Cotality

Parsed

1 indicator

CoreLogic (now Cotality) publishes monthly mortgage performance data including early-stage delinquency and home price indices.

Mortgage Bankers Association

Parsed

1 indicator

The MBA publishes the National Delinquency Survey, the industry's most comprehensive quarterly measure of mortgage delinquency by loan type (FHA, VA, convent...

TransUnion

Parsed

1 indicator

TransUnion publishes quarterly credit industry insights including delinquency rates by loan type from their consumer credit database.

Equifax

Parsed

1 indicator

Equifax publishes monthly consumer credit data and partners with the NY Fed on the Consumer Credit Panel, providing granular delinquency and balance data.

The Conference Board

Parsed

1 indicator

The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index, measuring household expectations about business conditions, employment, and income — a forward-...

Google Trends

Parsed

1 indicator

Google Trends data measures search interest in financial distress terms, providing a real-time behavioral signal of household economic anxiety.

National Multifamily Housing Council

Parsed

1 indicator

NMHC publishes the Rent Payment Tracker, measuring the share of apartment households making full or partial rent payments each month.

Bankrate

Parsed

1 indicator

Bankrate's annual Emergency Savings Report tracks the share of Americans with adequate emergency savings — a direct measure of household financial buffers.

American Bankers Association

Parsed

1 indicator

The ABA publishes quarterly reports on consumer credit delinquency across bank portfolios.

WARNTracker

Parsed

1 indicator

WARNTracker aggregates Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filings from state departments of labor, providing advance notice of mass lay...

Academic & Nonprofit

Derived Indicators

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If you're struggling with debt or facing foreclosure, free help is available. Find help near you · Browse the Glossary · The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides HUD-approved housing counselors at no cost. You can also call 1-800-569-4287.