Gallup Poll: Americans Increasingly Worried About Finances

Americans have grown increasingly worried about their finances over the past year, according to a new poll from Gallup released on Monday.

The survey shows that the percentage of Americans who are worried about various aspects of their finances has risen from 2021, a year that had seen a widespread decline in worry about finances compared to 2020.

• 40% of Americans in 2022 are “very or moderately worried” about not having enough money to pay their typical monthly bills.
• 32% said the same in 2021.
• 43% said the same in 2020.
• 52% in 2022 are worried about maintaining their standard of living.
• 45% said the same in 2021.
• 48% said the same in 2020.
• 63% in 2022 are worried about not having enough money for retirement.
• 58% said the same in 2021.
• 59% said the same in 2020.
• 56% in 2022 are worried about being unable to pay medical costs for a serious illness or accident.
• 54% said the same in 2021 and in 2020.

Gallup notes that this is the first survey since 2016 to show a majority of Americans are worried about maintaining their standard of living. According to Gallup, worry about these financial matters is “strongly correlated with income,” as “worry among middle- and upper-income Americans have not changed meaningfully on most items, while the rates have soared among those in households making less than $40,000 per year.”

The poll surveyed 1,018 adults across the country from April 1-19, 2022 with a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.