Highlights From the FINRA Foundation National Financial Capability Study
Financial Capability in the United States
▸ While people's ability to make ends meet has improved over the years, patterns of spending relative to
income have not changed. In 2021, roughly one in five reported that they spend more than their income, 34
percent indicated they spend about equal to their income, and 43 percent said they spend less than their
income. These percentages have remained consistent across all five NFCS waves.
Spending vs. income
Spending
more than
20%
19%
18%
19%
19%
income
Spending
about equal
35%
36%
38%
36%
34%
to income
Spending
less than
income
42%
41%
40%
41%
43%
2009
2012
2015
2018
2021
Note: Individual bars do not sum to 100 percent because the percentage of respondents who answered "Don't know" or
"Prefer not to say" are not displayed.
► The percentage of respondents who always pay their credit cards in full has increased steadily over the five
waves of the NFCS to nearly 3 out of 5 respondents (59 percent).
In the past year, I always paid my credit cards in full
(among respondents with credit cards)
59%
49%
52%
54%
41%
2009
2012
2015
2018
2021
Because self-reported home values are often inaccurate-making it difficult to calculate the exact amount
of equity respondents have in their homes—the NFCS uses a simple measure of home equity that asks
participants, "Do you currently owe more on your home than you think you could sell it for today?" In
response to this question, 7 percent of homeowners reported being "underwater" in 2021. Though this
figure does not differ substantially from 2018 and 2015 (9 percent), it continues a gradual recovery from the
collapse in home values during the Great Recession.³
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