Highlights From the FINRA Foundation National Financial Capability Study
Financial Capability in the United States
Financial Capability Over Time
Examining changes across the five waves of the NFCS suggests that the pandemic did not lead to decreased
financial capability among U.S. adults as a whole (though, as discussed later in this report, it did negatively
affect some groups). The data show gains on several indicators of financial capability, and potentially the
beginnings of an upward trend among measures that stagnated in 2018.
► The ability to make ends meet appears to have improved despite the pandemic. The percentage of
respondents in the NFCS who reported no difficulty covering monthly expenses and bills increased from 50
percent in 2018 to 54 percent in 2021, showing continued progress since 2009.
Find it not at all difficult covering expenses and paying bills
48%
50%
54%
36%
40%
2009
2012
2015
2018
2021
Satisfaction with personal finances has remained fairly steady since 2015, after nearly doubling between
2009 and 2015. A third of respondents in the 2021 NFCS reported feeling very satisfied with their current
personal financial condition (8 to 10 on a 10-point scale), little changed from 2018, though the overall trend
appears to be moving in a positive direction.
Satisfied with personal financial condition
24%
31%
31%
33%
16%
2009
2012
2015
2018
2021
<3 >
Highlights From the FINRA Foundation National Financial Capability StudyView entire presentation