Quarterly Survey of Household Emergency Expenses and Decisionmaking
Total sample size for the survey conducted between January 22-27, 2025 was 9,802. The sample for less than $50k HHI: 5,224, for $50k-99.9k HHI: 3,044 and for $100k and more HHI: 1,534
Morning Consult surveys approximately 10,000 U.S. adults each quarter on their households’ capacity to absorb emergency expenses and related economic decisions. The first section of the survey replicates questions from the Dealing With Unexpected Expenses section of the Federal Reserve’s annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, which poses hypothetical questions on how consumers would respond to an emergency expense. The second section of Morning Consult’s survey focuses on actual outcomes reported by consumers who experienced emergency expenses, allowing for comparison between theoretical and observed behaviors.
Key Takeaways
U.S. consumers grew only slightly more confident in their ability to cover emergency expenses with cash in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the previous quarter. At 44%, U.S. adults who can cover emergency expenses with cash remain lower than 2024Q1 and 2023Q1 figures (47%). Only households making $100k or more saw their share for ability to pay with cash increase relative to the 2024Q1.
Among the different age cohorts, Baby boomers had a better outlook in their ability to cover emergency expenses with cash relative to last quarter, while GenX continued to see their shares decline.
Despite the hypothetical view on emergency expenses, for most who encountered an emergency expense between $200-$600, they were still able to pay with cash or equivalent at a higher rate relative to how they responded to the hypothetical question.
Data Downloads
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Ability to Cover an Emergency Expense With Cash (Hypothetical)
Actual Emergency Expense Paid With Cash
Source of This Data
Methodology
The Morning Consult Quarterly Survey of Household Emergency Expenses and Decisionmaking relies on data collected through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. The interviews were conducted online in January 22-27, 2025, and the data is weighted on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age, race by educational attainment, health coverage, Medicare coverage, and SNAP benefit status. Results from the full survey have a quarterly sample size of 9,802 U.S. adults and an unweighted margin of error of +/- 1 percentage point.
“Cash and cash equivalent” includes paying with cash, with money in a checking/savings account or putting the expense on a credit card and paying it in full at the next statement. “Noncash equivalent” includes putting the expense on a credit card and paying it off over time, using money from a bank loan or line of credit, borrowing from a friend or family member, selling something, or using a payday loan, deposit advance or overdraft.
About Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.
Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.
Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.
