Reading Time: < 1 minute

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

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time Milwaukee-based reporter in October 2024 after starting as a freelance Fact Briefs reporter in January 2023. In addition to contributing to Wisconsin Watch’s collaboration with The Gigafact Project to combat online misinformation, he reports on Wisconsin policy, labor, energy and the rapid expansion of data centers across the state. Kertscher is a former longtime reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and the author of two sports books, on Al McGuire and Brett Favre.