Who Finds It Hard to Make Ends Meet?

Nearly one in four Americans reports that it is fairly or very difficult for them to make ends meet, according to the 2018 General Social Survey. Here's the survey question: "Thinking of your household's total income, including all the sources of income of all the members who contribute to it, how difficult or easy is it currently for your household to make ends meet?"

How difficult/easy to make ends meet?
Very difficult: 6.5%
Fairly difficult: 16.6%
Neither difficult nor easy: 26.6%
Fairly easy: 32.8%
Very easy: 17.5%

Perhaps the most interesting finding when analyzing the results by demographic characteristic is how little difference the demographics make. By generation, for example, the percentage who find it fairly or very difficult to make ends meet ranges narrowly from a low of 22 percent in the generation preceding the baby boom (aged 73 or older in 2018) to a high of 28 percent among Gen Xers. By race and Hispanic origin, the figure is lowest among non-Hispanic Whites (21 percent) and highest among Blacks (30 percent). The biggest demographic gap is by education. Among people without a bachelor's degree, 29 percent find it fairly or very difficult to make ends meet. Among those with a bachelor's degree, only 10 percent are struggling.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2018 General Social Survey