In the last 7 days, how difficult has it been for your household to pay for usual household expenses, including but not limited to food, rent or mortgage, car payments, medical expenses, student loans, and so on? Select only one answer.
Asked of: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006
Difficulty paying usual household expenses · Asked in 60 waves, 2020–2024 · 3,989,029 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Periods loaded: week13, week14, week15, week16, week17, week18, week19, week20, week21, week22, week23, week24, week25, week26, week27, week28, week29, week30, week31, week32, week33, week34, week35, week36, week37, week38, week39, week40, week41, week42, week43, week44, week45, week46, week47, week48, week49, week50, week51, week52, week53, week54, week55, week56, week57, week58, week59, week60, week61, week62, week63, cycle01, cycle02, cycle03, cycle04, cycle05, cycle06, cycle07, cycle08, cycle09.
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave (or one year’s average), evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 09 (2024-08-20 to 2024-09-16) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-08-20 to 2024-09-16 | web | 51,280 | 48,590 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 08 (2024-07-23 to 2024-08-19) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-07-23 to 2024-08-19 | web | 59,913 | 56,977 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 07 (2024-06-25 to 2024-07-22) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-06-25 to 2024-07-22 | web | 70,429 | 63,263 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 06 (2024-05-28 to 2024-06-24) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-05-28 to 2024-06-24 | web | 72,125 | 64,811 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 05 (2024-04-30 to 2024-05-27) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-04-30 to 2024-05-27 | web | 72,162 | 64,703 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 04 (2024-04-02 to 2024-04-29) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-04-02 to 2024-04-29 | web | 73,352 |
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Not at all difficult | A little difficult | Somewhat difficult | Very difficult | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents | 34% | 29% | 20% | 17% | 48590 | ±0.9 | |
| 18–29 | 26% | 33% | 23% | 18% | 2793 | ±3 | |
| 30–44 | 28% | 29% | 20% | 23% | 11298 | ±2 | |
| 45–64 | 31% | 29% | 21% | 19% | 17832 | ±1 | |
| 65+ | 50% | 27% | 15% | 8% | 16667 | ±1 |
Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 09 (2024-08-20 to 2024-09-16) · US adults 18+ living in housing units (50 states and DC). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.
| 65,863 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 03 (2024-03-05 to 2024-04-01) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-03-05 to 2024-04-01 | web | 71,798 | 64,077 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 02 (2024-02-06 to 2024-03-04) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-02-06 to 2024-03-04 | web | 71,152 | 63,726 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Cycle 01 (2024-01-09 to 2024-02-05) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: TBIRTH_YEAR<=2006. | 2024-01-09 to 2024-02-05 | web | 68,544 | 61,430 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 63 (2023-10-18 to 2023-10-30) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-10-18 to 2023-10-30 | web | 79,371 | 74,099 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 62 (2023-09-20 to 2023-10-02) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-09-20 to 2023-10-02 | web | 72,839 | 67,793 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 61 (2023-08-23 to 2023-09-04) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-08-23 to 2023-09-04 | web | 68,454 | 62,411 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 60 (2023-07-26 to 2023-08-07) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-07-26 to 2023-08-07 | web | 68,830 | 64,257 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 59 (2023-06-28 to 2023-07-10) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-06-28 to 2023-07-10 | web | 63,802 | 59,524 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 58 (2023-06-07 to 2023-06-19) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-06-07 to 2023-06-19 | web | 64,792 | 60,388 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 57 (2023-04-26 to 2023-05-08) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-04-26 to 2023-05-08 | web | 59,290 | 55,716 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 56 (2023-03-29 to 2023-04-10) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-03-29 to 2023-04-10 | web | 61,927 | 58,087 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 55 (2023-03-01 to 2023-03-13) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-13 | web | 72,738 | 68,467 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 54 (2023-02-01 to 2023-02-13) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-13 | web | 75,709 | 71,420 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 53 (2023-01-04 to 2023-01-16) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2005. | 2023-01-04 to 2023-01-16 | web | 68,504 | 64,673 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 52 (2022-12-09 to 2022-12-19) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-12-09 to 2022-12-19 | web | 70,685 | 66,658 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 51 (2022-11-02 to 2022-11-14) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-11-02 to 2022-11-14 | web | 61,453 | 58,166 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 50 (2022-10-05 to 2022-10-17) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-10-05 to 2022-10-17 | web | 42,040 | 39,719 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 49 (2022-09-14 to 2022-09-26) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-09-14 to 2022-09-26 | web | 50,937 | 48,092 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 48 (2022-07-27 to 2022-08-08) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-07-27 to 2022-08-08 | web | 46,801 | 44,097 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 47 (2022-06-29 to 2022-07-11) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-06-29 to 2022-07-11 | web | 58,304 | 54,921 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 46 (2022-06-01 to 2022-06-13) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-06-01 to 2022-06-13 | web | 62,826 | 59,362 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 45 (2022-04-27 to 2022-05-09) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-04-27 to 2022-05-09 | web | 61,767 | 57,681 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 44 (2022-03-30 to 2022-04-11) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-03-30 to 2022-04-11 | web | 63,769 | 59,752 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 43 (2022-03-02 to 2022-03-14) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-03-02 to 2022-03-14 | web | 84,158 | 78,613 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 42 (2022-01-26 to 2022-02-07) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2022-01-26 to 2022-02-07 | web | 75,482 | 70,812 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 41 (2021-12-29 to 2022-01-10) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2004. | 2021-12-29 to 2022-01-10 | web | 74,995 | 70,920 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 40 (2021-12-01 to 2021-12-13) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2003. | 2021-12-01 to 2021-12-13 | web | 60,826 | 56,823 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 39 (2021-09-29 to 2021-10-11) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2003. | 2021-09-29 to 2021-10-11 | web | 57,064 | 53,078 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 38 (2021-09-15 to 2021-09-27) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2003. | 2021-09-15 to 2021-09-27 | web | 59,833 | 55,618 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 37 (2021-09-01 to 2021-09-13) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-09-01 to 2021-09-13 | web | 63,536 | 59,135 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 36 (2021-08-18 to 2021-08-30) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-08-18 to 2021-08-30 | web | 69,114 | 64,342 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 35 (2021-08-04 to 2021-08-16) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-08-04 to 2021-08-16 | web | 68,799 | 63,978 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 34 (2021-07-21 to 2021-08-02) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-07-21 to 2021-08-02 | web | 64,562 | 60,093 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 33 (2021-06-23 to 2021-07-05) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-06-23 to 2021-07-05 | web | 66,262 | 63,053 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 32 (2021-06-09 to 2021-06-21) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-06-09 to 2021-06-21 | web | 68,067 | 64,812 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 31 (2021-05-26 to 2021-06-07) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-05-26 to 2021-06-07 | web | 70,854 | 67,392 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 30 (2021-05-12 to 2021-05-24) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-05-12 to 2021-05-24 | web | 72,897 | 69,435 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 29 (2021-04-28 to 2021-05-10) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-04-28 to 2021-05-10 | web | 78,467 | 74,755 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 28 (2021-04-14 to 2021-04-26) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-04-14 to 2021-04-26 | web | 68,913 | 65,258 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 27 (2021-03-17 to 2021-03-29) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-03-17 to 2021-03-29 | web | 77,104 | 74,063 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 26 (2021-03-03 to 2021-03-15) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-03-03 to 2021-03-15 | web | 78,306 | 75,318 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 25 (2021-02-17 to 2021-03-01) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-02-17 to 2021-03-01 | web | 77,788 | 75,022 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 24 (2021-02-03 to 2021-02-15) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-02-03 to 2021-02-15 | web | 77,122 | 74,219 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 23 (2021-01-20 to 2021-02-01) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-01-20 to 2021-02-01 | web | 80,567 | 77,659 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 22 (2021-01-06 to 2021-01-18) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All person's born before 2003. | 2021-01-06 to 2021-01-18 | web | 68,348 | 65,370 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 21 (2020-12-09 to 2020-12-21) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-12-09 to 2020-12-21 | web | 69,944 | 68,511 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 20 (2020-11-25 to 2020-12-07) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-11-25 to 2020-12-07 | web | 72,484 | 71,100 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 19 (2020-11-11 to 2020-11-23) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-11-11 to 2020-11-23 | web | 71,939 | 70,373 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 18 (2020-10-28 to 2020-11-09) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-10-28 to 2020-11-09 | web | 58,729 | 57,486 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 17 (2020-10-14 to 2020-10-26) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-10-14 to 2020-10-26 | web | 88,716 | 87,090 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 16 (2020-09-30 to 2020-10-12) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-09-30 to 2020-10-12 | web | 95,604 | 93,882 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 15 (2020-09-16 to 2020-09-28) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-09-16 to 2020-09-28 | web | 99,302 | 97,510 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 14 (2020-09-02 to 2020-09-14) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-09-02 to 2020-09-14 | web | 110,019 | 107,818 |
| Household Pulse Survey, Week 13 (2020-08-19 to 2020-08-31) Source variable EXPNS_DIF. Universe: All persons born before 2002. | 2020-08-19 to 2020-08-31 | web | 109,051 | 106,768 |