AARP Hearing Center
Since January 2022, when the AARP Financial Security Trends Survey first started tracking how U.S. adults age 30-plus feel about their financial situation, overall sense of financial insecurity has increased slightly. Forty-two percent of adults age 30-plus are feeling financially insecure, according to the January 2026 edition of the AARP Financial Security Trends Survey, which is up from 40% in January 2025 and 39% in January 2022.
Many continue to feel financially stretched
Even though the increase in overall sense of financial insecurity has been modest, the survey reveals evidence of increasing cost pressures. For example, more than 7 in 10 (72%) adults age 30-plus remain worried about prices rising faster than their income.
Moreover, many report that their monthly expenses are higher now than last year, particularly for essentials like food, housing, health care, and transportation. Health care costs in particular stand out this year, as a record-high share of adults (49%) say that their monthly health care expenses today are higher than 12 months ago.
Feelings of financial insecurity have spread among middle- and upper-income adults
While individuals with the lowest incomes continue to be more likely than higher-income individuals to feel financially insecure, the steepest increase in sense of financial insecurity from 2022 to 2026 is concentrated among adults with household incomes of $75,000 to $99,000 and $100,000 or more. For example, 36% of adults with household incomes of $75,000 to $99,000 feel financially insecure in 2026 as do 21% of those with household incomes of $100,000 or more, up from 20% and 14%, respectively, in 2022.
Key factors besides income distinguish financially secure and insecure adults
Financial shocks, higher ongoing expenses, savings, and debt all represent key differentiators between people who feel financially secure and people who feel financially insecure. For example, compared to those who feel secure, people who feel financially insecure are more likely to have experienced a financial shock in the past year such as a large, unexpected expense or income disruption, and they are also more likely to report that their monthly expenses for basic needs are higher compared to last year.
The presence of savings and debt is also tied to whether people feel financially secure or insecure. Emergency savings as well as retirement savings are more common among people who feel secure than those who feel financially insecure. Furthermore, credit card debt is more common among people who feel insecure than among those who feel secure. These differences between those who feel secure and insecure hold regardless of income level.
The contrast between those who feel secure and those who feel insecure has become more pronounced, particularly the worry gap and the debt gap
Adults who feel financially secure today appear to be better off than those who felt secure in 2022, as they are less worried about their finances and less likely to have debt. In contrast, those who feel financially insecure today continue to report widespread challenges, with higher credit card debt and no easing of worries compared to 2022.
At its core, these findings suggest that the slight increase in sense of overall financial insecurity since 2022 masks divergent experiences. Those who feel insecure are struggling on multiple fronts. Compared with those who feel financially secure, they are more likely to report financial shocks, higher expenses, and debt that feels unmanageable, and are less likely to have savings for short-term protection and longer-term stability.
For more information about these findings and a list of resources from AARP related to financial security, see the report Financially Secure vs. Insecure: What Distinguishes People Who Feel Financially Secure from Those Who Feel Financially Insecure?
Methodology
Findings are based on AARP’s annual Financial Security Trends Survey, which is conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago on behalf of AARP to monitor the financial experiences, behaviors, and attitudes of adults age 30-plus.
The January 2026 survey was conducted from January 2 to January 26, 2026 among 6,736 adults age 30-plus across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey includes oversamples of Black and African American adults, Hispanic and Latino adults, Asian American adults, and LGBTQ+ adults. Data for the general sample were collected using NORC’s AmeriSpeak® Panel as well as its Foresight 50+® Panel; both are probability-based panels designed to be representative of adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. To achieve the desired oversamples of Black adults, Hispanic adults, Asian American adults and LGBTQ+ adults, respondents from the Dynata nonprobability online opt-in panel were included. The January 2026 survey included a total of 1,545 Black respondents, 1,579 Hispanic respondents, 1,080 Asian American adults, and 1,185 LGBTQ+ adults. TrueNorth® calibration weighting was used in the oversamples to combine the probability and nonprobability samples and reduce bias in the nonprobability sample.
For more information, contact S. Kathi Brown of AARP Research at skbrown@aarp.org. Media inquiries should be directed to media@aarp.org.
MORE FROM AARP
