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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Three national polls done in 2024 found nearly two-thirds of Americans said they are living paycheck to paycheck.

That means 66% said they spend as much as they earn each month, making it difficult to save for the future, a MarketWatch Guides survey found.

The figure was 65% in a poll by CNBC and SurveyMonkey and 65% in a PYMNTS Intelligence report.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin claimed July 16, 2024, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that under President Joe Biden, “66% of Americans now live paycheck to paycheck.”

Similar 2024 polls found lower percentages.

58% of registered voters in a NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll said they are living paycheck to paycheck.

40% of Americans said they are unable to plan beyond their next paycheck, according to a National True Cost of Living Coalition-commissioned poll.

A Bankrate poll of workers found 34% said they are living paycheck to paycheck.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

MarketWatch: Paycheck to Paycheck Statistics

CNBC: More Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck this year than in 2023—here’s why

PYMNTS: Emergency Expenses Break the Bank for Paycheck-to-Paycheck Consumers

WRIC ABC 8News: Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

National True Cost of Living Coalition: For Immediate Release — National True Cost of Living Coalition

NewsNation: Voters on the economy, presidential debates and RFK: Full results

Bankrate: More Than A Third of Workers Say They’re Living Paycheck To Paycheck

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time reporter in October 2024. He started as a fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.