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.
Consumer financial resilience held relatively steady from July to August, degrading a single point, from 63.1 to 62.1. Between survey periods — the first week of each month — a ceasefire in Iran fell apart and now stands on shaky ground, inflation remained high, the economy shed an estimated 23,000 jobs and consumers continued to spend despite affordability constraints.
The financial resilience of households depends in part on their ability to expect economic stability. Improvement over the past two months may not hold if consumers and businesses can’t be sure the economy is on stable footing.
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.
75%: Americans who feel in control of their day-to-day finances.
- Those with the highest household incomes are most likely to feel this sense of control: 85% of those with household incomes of $100k or more compared with 73% in the $75k-99.9k range, 64% with household incomes from $50k to $74.9k, and 60% of those with household incomes less than $50k.
79%: 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%), though the share of Gen. Z with this confidence improved to 74% in August from 60% in July. Roughly the same share of millennials (74%) and Gen. Xers (78%) are confident in their on-time bill paying this month.
Financial Strength
Financial strength goes beyond how people feel. It measures concrete financial capacity and stress.
36%: 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. Across all income ranges, roughly equal shares will have to rely on credit (e.g., credit cards, BNPL, loans) to manage some or all of their expenses this month: 39% of those with household incomes less than $50k, 40% in the $50k-$74.9k range and 40% in the $75k-$99.9k range and 34% 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 — 49% versus 31% of people without children under 18.
67%: 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: 82% of those with household incomes of $100k or more have enough cash on hand to cover such an expense, compared to 65% with incomes in the $75k-$99.9k range, 52% in the $50k-$74.9k range and just 43% of those with household incomes less than $50k.
Economic Outlook
Economic outlook measures consumer expectations about future macroeconomic conditions.
64%: Americans who believe the U.S. economy will enter a recession in the next 12 months.
- Younger Americans are more likely to believe this than older generations: 72% of Gen. Z, 67% of millennials, 61% of Gen. Xers and 58% 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%.
INDEX METHODOLOGY
Cite as NerdWallet (2026). “August 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 Aug. 4-6, 2026, among 2,086 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.
