Financial Health Pulse® 2025 U.S. Trends Report

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Executive Summary

Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Gaps

The 2025 U.S. Trends Report arrives at a moment marked by uncertainty and change, and as a result, our data reveal a mixed picture: modest but fragile financial health improvements in the short term paired with a lack of progress and deep-seated disparities over the long term.

These signals underscore the urgent need for sustained and substantial attention and investment to prevent any backward slide – especially as economic and policy conditions shift – and to move from incremental change to transformative improvement.

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Key Findings

Only 31% of households were Financially Healthy in spring 2025, consistent with recent years.

Some vulnerable groups saw modest gains, driven by higher savings rates and debt manageability.

Confidence in insurance coverage continued to decline as home insurance premiums spiked.

Credit scores dipped for student loan borrowers as delinquencies were reported to credit bureaus after years of federal forbearance.

Key Finding 1

Financial Health Challenges Remain Entrenched

Eight years of Pulse data show that financial health improvements have proved fleeting.

- Only 31% of households were Financially Healthy in spring 2025, consistent with recent years and only slightly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
- The only time the share of Financially Healthy households increased substantially was in 2020 and 2021 – years characterized by unprecedented levels of government assistance and restricted consumer spending at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The financial health gains from these interventions wore off quickly as much of that government support ended.

Figure 1. Percentage of households in each financial health tier, by year.
Click legend to sort the data.

Notes: 2018-2022 were sampled and weighted at the individual level, and 2023-2025 were sampled and weighted at the household level. Percentage points may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
* Statistically significant change from the prior year (p < .05).

Key Finding 2

A Modest Decrease in Financial Vulnerability

Savings ability and debt manageability both improved slightly.

- The percentage of households who spent less than their income over the past 12 months rose from 47% to 49%.
- Meanwhile, the share who spent more than their income declined from 24% to 23%.
- The percentage of households reporting an unmanageable amount of debt decreased from 30% to 29%.

Figure 2. Percentage of households reporting that they spent less than, the same as, or more than their income over the past 12 months.
Click legend to sort the data.

Notes: Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
* Statistically significant change from 2024 (p < .05)

Figure 3. Percentage of households reporting no debt, manageable debt, and unmanageable debt, by year.
Click legend to sort the data.

Notes: Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
* Statistically significant change from 2024 (p < .05)

Key Finding 3

Growing Concerns About Insurance

Household confidence in insurance coverage continued to decline.

- The share of households who were at least moderately confident that their insurance policies were sufficient to cover an emergency fell from 59% to 56%.
- This decline continues a gradual downward trend stretching back to at least 2018.
- Households who experienced natural disasters in the past year were even less confident in their insurance coverage.

Figure 4. Percentage of households reporting they are at least moderately confident their insurance policies will provide enough support in an emergency.

Notes: Labels are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.
* Statistically significant relative to 2024 (p < .05)

Key Finding 4

Student Loan Borrowers’ Credit Scores Take a Hit

Loan servicers resumed reporting late payments, impacting borrowers’ credit scores.

- The percentage of households with student loans reporting that their credit score was “good,” “very good,” or “excellent” dropped from 69% to 65%.
- There was no statistically significant change in credit scores among households without student loans.

Figure 5. Percentage of households reporting having a good or better credit score, by student loan ownership and year.

Notes: N = 1,512 households with student loans and 5,609 without in 2024. 1,476 households with student loans and 5,821 without in 2025.
* Statistically significant relative to 2024 (p < .05)

Explore the Data

Dive deeper into eight years of financial health trends and 2025 financial health disparities with interactive charts. Track changes in households’ savings, spending, borrowing, and planning over time. Plus, review the methodology behind the findings.

Explore the Data

Conclusion

Turning Modest Gains Into Meaningful Progress

After two years of rising distress, the past year’s modest decrease in financial vulnerability signals that cooling inflation and a stable job market have given some struggling households breathing room in their budgets. Despite this progress, the share of households who are Financially Healthy has not meaningfully increased since 2022.

More than two-thirds of U.S. households remain Financially Unhealthy, and Pulse data highlight other areas for concern. Consumer confidence in insurance is declining, struggling student loan borrowers face the resumption of collections activities, and forthcoming changes to Medicaid and SNAP are poised to reduce access to healthcare and food for millions.^{1, 2, 3}

Eight years of Pulse data have made one thing clear: without substantial new investment in the financial health of the most vulnerable groups, meaningful progress is unlikely to last. We encourage industry, community, and policy leaders to use these findings to shape effective cross-sector strategies – working together to ensure that this year’s decline in financial vulnerability continues in 2026 and beyond.

About the 2025 U.S. Trends Report

Since 2018, the Financial Health Network has conducted the Financial Health Pulse® research initiative. The Financial Health Pulse combines probability-based, longitudinal survey data with administrative data to provide regular updates and actionable insights about the financial lives of Americans. Using our annual Pulse survey data, the U.S. Trends Report documents year-over-year changes in financial health and disparities in financial health across different consumer groups living in the United States.

Our analysis provides insights on two dozen household characteristics, including:

Student loan debt
Outstanding credit card debt
Investment ownership
Veteran status

Urbanicity
Net worth
Non-traditional employment
Entrepreneurship

Access to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)
Union membership
Natural disaster experience

Endnotes

Jared Ortaliza et. al, “How Will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Affect the ACA, Medicaid, and the Uninsured Rate?,” KFF, June 2025.
Adam S. Minsky, “Big Update On Student Loan Repayment Plan Processing And PSLF Shows Uneven Progress,” Forbes, June 2025.
Phillip L. Swagel, “Potential Effects on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of Reconciliation Recommendations Pursuant to H. Con. Re. 14,” Congressional Budget Office, May 2025.

Acknowledgments

The Financial Health Network is grateful to the members of the Financial Health Pulse Advisory Council for their thoughtful reviews and strategic guidance.

The Financial Health Network is collaborating with USC’s Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research to field the study to its online panel, the Understanding America Study. We thank them for their partnership.

The report authors would also like to thank their colleagues at the Financial Health Network for their contributions to this report and its publication: Matt Bahl, Lisa Berdie, Necati Celik, Lindsay Ferguson, Hannah Gdalman, Sarah Gordon, Adeeb Mahmud, Dan Miller, Catherine New, David Silberman, Lindsey Taureck, and Chris Vo.

The Financial Health Pulse is supported by the Principal Foundation. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this piece are those of the Financial Health Network and do not necessarily represent those of our funders or partners.