Americans reported improvement in their well-being last year compared with 2014 and 2013, according to a Federal Reserve Board report released last month.
Sixty-nine percent of adults say they are either “living comfortably” or “doing okay,” compared with 65 percent in 2014 and 62 percent in 2013, said the “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2015.”
But 31 percent, or about 76 million adults, are either “struggling to get by” or are “just getting by.”
The Fed report is based on a survey, conducted in October and November 2015, that examines the overall economic well-being of Americans, along with their personal finances; income and spending; economic preparedness and emergency savings; banking, credit access and credit use; housing and living arrangements; auto lending; education and student debt; and retirement.
Overall Well-Being
(by family income, race, ethnicity, education, marital, and parental status)
| Percent | ||||
| Characteristic | Finding it difficult to get by | Just getting by | Doing okay | Living comfortably |
| Family income | ||||
| Less than $40,000 | 17.7 | 31.6 | 38.5 | 12.1 |
| $40,000-$100,000 | 4.4 | 19.4 | 47.3 | 28.8 |
| Greater than $100,000 | 1.8 | 7.9 | 36.6 | 53.7 |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 8.5 | 20.3 | 40.7 | 30.3 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 10.3 | 28.3 | 40.9 | 20.4 |
| Hispanic | 12.3 | 24.7 | 42.6 | 20.5 |
| Education | ||||
| High school degree or less | 12.9 | 25.9 | 41.2 | 19.8 |
| Some college or associate degree | 8.9 | 25.1 | 42.1 | 23.9 |
| Bachelor’s degree or more | 5.7 | 13.8 | 39.5 | 40.9 |
| Marital and parental status | ||||
| Unmarried, no children under 18 | 12.1 | 25.0 | 41.7 | 21.0 |
| Married, no children under 18 | 5.6 | 15.3 | 42.5 | 36.7 |
| Unmarried, children under 18 | 18.7 | 34.3 | 33.7 | 13.3 |
| Married, children under 18 | 6.9 | 22.2 | 39.9 | 31.0 |
| Overall | 9.4 | 22.0 | 41.0 | 27.6 |
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