Portrait of Financial Security

This interactive highlights the financial balance sheets of 17 family types and illustrates how household demographics, such as education, race, and family structure, relate to financial security. Users can explore three areas of the balance sheet—income, wealth, and liquid savings—to better understand how families are doing financially and how they perceive their financial well-being. The interactive is based on data from Pew’s nationally representative Survey of American Family Finances. Select a profile to get started.

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Income range for this family type:
Wealth savings range for this family type:
Liquid savings range for this family type:
Is about the same|Varies somewhat|Varies a lot
Never/rarely|Some months|Most months
Percent of these families rating household finances as poor/only fair:
Month to month, percent of these families whose income…Percent of these families who say unexpected expenses prevent saving:
Income Distribution for All Households
Percent of households
labels	main	wncn	wncy	wccn	wccy	wnsn	wnsy	wcsn	bncn	bncy	bccn	bnsn	bnsy	bcsn	hncn	hncy	hccn	hnsn
Less than $5,000	4.3	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$5,000 to $9,999	3.26	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.26	3.26	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.26
$10,000 to $14,999	4.63	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.63	-    	-    	-    	4.63	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$15,000 to $19,999	3.56	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.56	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.56	-    	-
$20,000 to $24,999	4.34	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.34	-    	-    	4.34	-    	-    	4.34
$25,000 to $29,999	5.02	-    	-    	-    	-    	5.02	-    	-    	5.02	-    	-    	-    	5.02	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$30,000 to $34,999	4.75	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.75	4.75	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.75	-    	-    	-    	-
$35,000 to $44,999	6.96	6.96	6.96	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	6.96	-    	6.96	-    	-    	-    	6.96	-    	-
$45,000 to $54,999	7.31	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	7.31	-    	7.31	-    	-    	-
$55,000 to $64,999	8.5	8.5	-    	-    	-    	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	-    	-    	8.5	-    	-    	-    	8.5
$65,000 to $74,999	9.27	-    	9.27	9.27	9.27	-    	-    	-    	9.27	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	9.27	9.27	-    	-
$75,000 to $84,999	7.03	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	7.03	-    	-    	7.03	-
$85,000 to $94,999	7.3	7.3	7.3	-    	-    	-    	-    	7.3	-    	-    	7.3	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$95,000 to $104,999	1.03	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$105,000 to $114,999	9.65	-    	-    	9.65	9.65	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	9.65	-
$115,000 to $134,999	0.76	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	0.76	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$135,000 to $154,999	4.96	-    	-    	4.96	4.96	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.96	-
$155,000 to $174,999	2.58	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$175,000 and more	4.77	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
wncn	37500	55000	92500	77.42045	18.56310	4.01646
wncy	37500	65000	92500	67.20335	27.85604	4.94061
wccn	70000	112500	137500	77.06904	18.55978	4.37118
wccy	72000	112500	137500	82.92389	14.75714	2.31897
wnsn	13750	27500	55000	75.28849	18.23693	6.47458
wnsy	17500	32500	60000	69.50620	22.87096	7.62284
wcsn	30000	55000	92500	80.19109	14.62887	5.18004
bncn	27500	55000	67500	69.54195	23.24525	7.2128
bncy	13750	35000	62000	50.53143	31.02122	18.44735
bccn	55000	92500	120000	81.38222	15.11073	3.50704
bnsn	8750	22500	37500	70.81726	20.31433	8.86841
bnsy	8750	25000	50000	57.49776	28.87322	13.62902
bcsn	33500	55000	80000	78.90203	18.51135	2.58661
hncn	22500	45000	67500	62.41773	31.46996	6.1123
hncy	17500	35000	67500	56.46632	29.08319	14.45049
hccn	80000	112500	137500	76.94474	17.23580	5.81945
hnsn	8750	22500	55000	67.51551	20.50964	11.97485
Wealth Distribution for All Households
Percent of households
labels                   	main	wncn	wncy	wccn	wccy	wnsn	wnsy	wcsn	bncn	bncy	bccn	bnsn	bnsy	bcsn	hncn	hncy	hccn	hnsn
Less than -$20,000      	9.36	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	9.36	-    	-    	-    	-
 -$20,000 to -$15,001   	1.22	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
-$15,000 to -$10,001    	1.8 	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	1.8	-    	-    	1.8	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
-$10,000 to -$5,001     	2.41	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	2.41	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
-$5,000 to -$1          	4.55	-    	4.55	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.55	4.55	-    	4.55	-    	-    	4.55
$0 to $4,999            	7.11	-    	-    	-    	-    	7.11	-    	-    	7.11	7.11	7.11	7.11	-    	-    	-    	7.11	-    	-
$5,000 to $9,999        	2.7 	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	2.7
$10,000 to $14,999      	1.84	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	1.84	-    	-
$15,000 to $19,999      	1.77	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	1.77	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$20,000 to $39,999      	5.38	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	5.38	-    	5.38	-    	-    	5.38	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$40,000 to $59,999      	4.87	4.87	4.87	-    	4.87	4.87	-    	-    	4.87	-    	-    	4.87	-    	4.87	4.87	-    	4.87	-
$60,000 to $79,999      	3.42	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.42	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.42	-    	-
$80,000 to $99,999      	2.61	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$100,000 to $199,999    	11.93	-    	11.93	11.93	11.93	-    	-    	11.93	-    	-    	11.93	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	11.93
$200,000 to $299,999    	7.08	7.08	-    	-    	-    	7.08	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	7.08	7.08	-    	-    	-
$300,000 to $399,999    	4.81	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.81	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$400,000 to $499,999    	3.87	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.87	-
$500,000 to $599,999    	3.04	-    	-    	3.04	3.04	-    	-    	3.04	-    	-    	3.04	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$600,000 to $699,999    	2.71	2.71	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$700,000 to $799,999    	2.08	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$800,000 to $899,999    	1.85	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$900,000 to $999,999    	1.43	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$1,000,000 to $1,999,999	7.65	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	7.65	-
$2,000,000 and above    	4.51	-    	-    	4.51	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
wncn	51800	221600	633500	40
wncy	-54	47200	183500	52
wccn	122000	566342	1348000	23
wccy	51720	191600	503300	28
wnsn	1030	57400	275500	54
wnsy	-5620	15400	74300	65
wcsn	23550	196220	552550	35
bncn	0	40000	301800	56
bncy	-14100	1700	29200	64
bccn	0	185300	568744	31
bnsn	-857	500	52875	61
bnsy	-13000	-300	33999	66
bcsn	-24500	54150	232850	45
hncn	-800	40815	296500	51
hncy	100	14100	76000	68
hccn	48750	459100	1034800	25
hnsn	-497	7085	125000	61
Liquid Savings Distribution for All Households
Percent of households
labels	main	wncn	wncy	wccn	wccy	wnsn	wnsy	wcsn	bncn	bncy	bccn	bnsn	bnsy	bcsn	hncn	hncy	hccn	hnsn
Zero liquid savings	9.82	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	9.82	-    	9.82	9.82	-    	-    	9.82	-    	-
$1 to $199	9.55	-    	9.55	-    	-    	-    	9.55	-    	9.55	9.55	-    	9.55	9.55	-    	-    	-    	-    	9.55
$200 to $399	5.37	-    	-    	-    	-    	5.37	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	5.37	-    	-    	-
$400 to $599	3.78	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.78	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.78	-    	3.78	-    	3.78
$600 to $799	2.24	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$800 to $999	1.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	1.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$1,000 to $1,999	8.12	8.12	8.12	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	8.12	8.12	8.12	8.12	-    	-    	8.12	-    	-    	-
$2,000 to $2,999	5.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	5.74	5.74	5.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	5.74	-    	5.74	-    	-
$3,000 to $3,999	4.06	-    	-    	-    	4.06	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	4.06	-
$4,000 to $4,999	3.32	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$5,000 to $5,999	3.13	-    	3.13	3.13	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.13	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.13
$6,000 to $6,999	2.54	2.54	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$7,000 to $7,999	2.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	2.74	2.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	2.74	-
$8,000 to $8,999	2.03	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$9,000 to $9,999	1.45	-    	-    	-    	1.45	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	1.45	-    	-    	-    	-
$10,000 to $14,999	6.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	6.74	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	6.74	-    	-    	-
$15,000 to $19,999	4.08	-    	-    	4.08	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$20,000 to $24,999	3.33	-    	-    	-    	3.33	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	3.33	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$25,000 to $29,999	2.34	2.34	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	2.34	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$30,000 to $34,999	2.31	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	2.31	-
$35,000 to $39,999	1.36	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$40,000 to $44,999	1.2	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$45,000 to $49,999	0.75	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$50,000 to $54,999	1.16	-    	-    	1.16	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$55,000 to $59,999	0.79	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$60,000 to $64,999	0.82	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
$65,000 and above	9.49	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-    	-
wncn	1000	6500	29400	33	46	21
wncy	165	1050	5800	16	47	37
wccn	5500	16000	50000	49	39	12
wccy	3100	9100	23000	28	49	23
wnsn	225	2100	12000	27	44	29
wnsy	50	401	2100	13	42	45
wcsn	2000	7000	26000	40	45	15
bncn	15	1040	7500	29	46	25
bncy	0	130	1950	13	39	48
bccn	1200	5700	20000	38	48	14
bnsn	0	87	1625	24	39	37
bnsy	0	75	900	16	40	43
bcsn	420	2000	9000	28	51	21
hncn	200	1800	11500	22	49	29
hncy	0	500	2700	17	39	44
hccn	3000	7345	30000	29	55	16
hnsn	5	574	5000	24	37	39
code	a	desc	keyfindings	social
bccn	1	Black college-educated couples without children	Typical black, college-educated couples without children have less than one-third of the wealth of their white peers and 40 percent of the wealth of their Hispanic peers.	Typical black, college-educated couples w/o kids have 40% of the wealth of their Hispanic peers							
bccy	0	N/A	N/A	N/A							
bcsn	1	Black college-educated singles without children	More than half of black, college-educated singles without children say their household financial situations are good or excellent.	55% of black, college-educated singles w/o kids say their household finances are good/excellent							
bcsy	0	N/A	N/A	N/A							
bncn	1	Black non-college-educated couples without children	A quarter of black, non-college-educated couples without children have zero or negative wealth, and a quarter have $15 or less in liquid savings.	A quarter of black, non-college-educated couples w/o kids have zero or negative wealth							
bncy	1	Black non-college-educated couples with children	87 percent of black, non-college-educated couples with children say unexpected expenses make it hard to save some or most months.	87% of black, non-college-educ couples w/kids say unexpected expenses make saving hard some/most months							
bnsn	1	Black non-college-educated singles without children	A quarter of black, non-college-educated singles without children have zero liquid savings, and more than a quarter have zero or negative wealth.	More than a quarter of black, non-college-educated singles w/o kids have zero or negative wealth							
bnsy	1	Black non-college-educated singles with children	More than half of black, non-college-educated singles with children have negative wealth.	More than half of black, non-college-educated singles w/kids have negative wealth							
hccn	1	Hispanic college-educated couples without children	Typical Hispanic, college-educated couples without children make 2.5 times more than their non-college-educated peers.	Typical Hispanic, college-educ couples w/o kids have 2.5x higher income than those w/o degrees							
hccy	0	N/A	N/A	N/A							
hcsn	0	N/A	N/A	N/A							
hcsy	0	N/A	N/A	N/A							
hncn	1	Hispanic non-college-educated couples without children	Typical Hispanic, non-college-educated couples without children hold less than one-fifth of the wealth of their white peers.	Typical Hispanic, non-college-educ couples w/o kids hold less than 1/5 of their white peers' wealth							
hncy	1	Hispanic non-college-educated couples with children	Half of Hispanic, non-college-educated couples with children have $500 or less in liquid savings.	Half of Hispanic, non-college-educated couples w/kids have $500 or less in liquid savings							
hnsn	1	Hispanic non-college-educated singles without children	A quarter of Hispanic, non-college-educated singles without children have negative wealth, and a quarter have $5 or less in liquid savings.	25% of Hispanic, non-college-educated singles w/o kids have $5 or less in liquid savings							
hnsy	0	N/A	N/A	N/A							
wccn	1	White college-educated couples without children	Typical white, college-educated couples without children have nearly three times more wealth than their peers with children.	Typical white, college-educated couples w/o kids have nearly 3x more wealth than their peers w/kids							
wccy	1	White college-educated couples with children	Half of white, college-educated couples with children say unexpected expenses sometimes make it hard to save.	Half of white, college-educated couples w/kids say unexpected expenses sometimes make saving hard							
wcsn	1	White college-educated singles without children	65 percent of white, college-educated singles without children say their household financial situations are good or excellent.	65% of white, college-educated singles w/o kids say their household finances are good/excellent 							
wcsy	0	N/A	N/A	N/A							
wncn	1	White non-college-educated couples without children	White, non-college-educated couples without children have more than five times the median wealth of their Hispanic peers.	White, non-college-educated couples w/o kids have over 5x the median wealth of their Hispanic peers							
wncy	1	White non-college-educated couples with children	A quarter of white, non-college-educated couples with children have less than $200 in liquid savings.	1 in 4 white, non-college-educated couples w/kids have under $200 in liquid savings							
wnsn	1	White non-college-educated singles without children	Three-quarters of white, non-college-educated singles without children say their income is about the same every month.	75% of white, non-college-educated singles w/o kids say their income is about the same every month							
wnsy	1	White non-college-educated singles with children	Typical white, non-college-educated singles with children have only $401 in liquid savings.	Typical white, non-college-educated singles with kids have only $401 in liquid savings							

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portrait of financial security
portrait of financial security
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Household Type and Financial Security

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Despite an improving economy, lower unemployment rates, and a rebounding stock market, many families are still struggling with their finances. Pew’s research has highlighted the financial tightrope Americans are walking.