This monthly composite index measures the financial resilience of Americans in a five-question survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet, across financial security, financial strength and economic outlook. Each of the five questions is weighted equally in this composite score, where zero would mean no resilience, and 100 represents perfect financial resilience.
Financial resilience remained pretty steady from August to September, going from 62.1 to 61.5. While many of our measures have stayed relatively consistent month over month since we started this index in May 2026, this month, we’ve seen a couple of statistically significant drops, one encouraging and one less so.
The financial resilience of households depends in part on their ability to expect economic stability. Fewer Americans believe the U.S. economy will enter a recession in the next 12 months now than they did in May 2026 (61% vs. 66%), which signifies more economic optimism. But the share of Americans who feel in control of their day-to-day finances has also dropped over the past few months (73% vs. 77% in July 2026).
Unsurprisingly, high income Americans and older generations are more financially resilient, as measured by this composite. These groups likely have more financial insulation that allows them to handle volatility with less disruption to their way of life.
Note: The survey defines Gen Zers as those 18-29; millennials, ages 30-45; Gen Xers, ages 46-61 and baby boomers, ages 62-80.
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Financial Security
Financial security is a subjective measure of personal financial control and confidence. It’s the psychological aspect of resilience — how people feel about their financial conditions.
73%: Americans who feel in control of their day-to-day finances.
- Those with higher household incomes are more likely to report feeling this control — 81% of Americans with a household income of $100k or more say this, compared with 74% in the $75k-$99.9k range, 69% in the $50k-$74.9k range and just 58% with household income less than $50k.
- Baby boomers (82%) are most likely to feel this sense of control compared to Gen Xers (73%), millennials (67%) and Gen Zers (66%).
78%: Americans who are confident in their ability to pay all of their bills on time this month.
- Baby boomers remain the most likely to be confident in their ability to pay all of their bills on time this month — 89% versus 77% of Gen Xers, 74% of millennials and 68% of Gen Zers.
Financial Strength
Financial strength goes beyond how people feel. It measures concrete financial capacity and stress.
35%: Americans who will have to rely on credit to manage at least some of their expenses this month.
- Having a higher household income doesn’t entirely eliminate this dependence: 40% of those with household incomes less than $50k will have to rely on credit (e.g., credit cards, BNPL, loans) to manage some or all of their expenses this month, along with 35% in the $50k-$74.9k range, 34% in the $75k-$99.9k range and 33% of those with household incomes of $100k or more.
- Parents of children under age 18 are more likely to have to rely on credit to manage at least some of their expenses this month — 44% versus 31% of people without children under 18.
63%: Americans with enough cash on hand to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, should one arise this month.
- The difference across income groups is dramatic: 78% of those with household incomes of $100k or more have enough cash on hand to cover such an expense, compared with 63% with incomes in the $75k-$99.9k range, 53% in the $50k-$74.9k range and just 40% of those with household incomes less than $50k.
Economic Outlook
Economic outlook measures consumer expectations about future macroeconomic conditions.
61%: Americans who believe the U.S. economy will enter a recession in the next 12 months.
- Younger generations are more likely to believe there is an impending recession: 65% of Gen Zers and Gen Xers say this, as well as 62% of millennials. Compare this to 54% of baby boomers.
This is the longest-standing measure in our index. We’ve been asking about recession expectations since August 2025, when it was at 61%. This month, it’s right back where it started.
INDEX METHODOLOGY
Cite as NerdWallet (2026). “September 2026 Consumer Financial Resilience Index.” Retrieved from https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/studies/financial-resilience-index
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet from Sept. 8-10, 2026, among 2,060 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].
All five questions across this survey are weighted equally to develop a composite score with a maximum value of 100.
