If we asked you whether you feel financially comfortable right now, what would you say?
Not thriving. Not rich. Just… comfortable. Bills paid, maybe a little saved, a cushion for emergencies. Enough that you’re not thinking about money all the time.
That feeling of financial comfort is becoming harder to come by for more and more Americans.
The Slide Into Survival Mode
We’ve been tracking how people across the country feel about their financial situation. And while the shifts were subtle at first, the past few weeks show a more alarming pattern: the number of Americans who say they’re struggling financially is climbing. The share who say they’re comfortable is shrinking. The change coincides with both the initial chatter—and the growing reality—of new tariffs.
Some of that movement seems to be a slow erosion from comfortable into getting by, and from getting by into struggling. But it’s not evenly distributed—some groups are being hit harder and faster than others:
Women are increasingly reporting financial hardship: 25% now say they’re struggling, up 5% since April. That’s notably higher than men at 17%. And for those women who are parents, it is harder. They’re +5pp compared to women who are not parents and +10pp compared to men who are parents.
Rural Americans report the highest struggle rate of any geography—25%, compared to 21% in suburbs and 20% in cities.
Financial hardship is growing fast among low-income households (under $25k) and middle-income households ($75k–$100k), rising 6 to 8 points.
Even older adults (65+), usually the most financially stable group, are showing cracks: struggling rates rose from 9% to 15% in just a few months.
This isn’t about belt-tightening or cutting back on extras. People are shifting into survival mode. There’s little in place to catch people when life takes an unexpected turn—a lost job, a serious illness, a natural disaster. So, without a stronger safety net, too many people fall into financial crises.
When Money Runs Tight
When people feel financially precarious, the effects cascade into every part of their lives and our democracy.
One respondent put it plainly:
“A few lack of sales will get me homeless. I am highly dependent on my job.” – 23, Male, Independent, CO
For those living this reality, hope becomes harder to hold on to. Compared to Americans in better financial situations, people who are struggling are 9 percentage points more likely to say they feel no hope at all and 34 points more likely to report experiencing “a great deal” of stress.
But this isn’t just about lacking money. It’s about lacking bandwidth, which shows up across the civic landscape:
Less informed about local issues (+6pp)
More powerless: +11pp more likely to believe they can’t have an impact
Lower trust in institutions. Reporting no trust in:
Labor unions (+8pp)
Congress (+9pp)
Federal agencies (+11pp)
Large corporations (+13pp)
Less faith in local government: +13pp more likely to say it’s “very ineffective”
Lower participation: +8pp more likely to say they “never” vote in local elections
All of that is troubling. But the most striking—and perhaps most dangerous—consequence is the deep sense of alienation. People who are struggling financially are 20 points more likely to say their community doesn’t care about them at all.
When money runs tight, it doesn’t just drain wallets—it erodes trust, weakens participation, and frays the very connections that hold communities together.
Final Thoughts
The picture that emerges from these findings isn’t just about economics. It’s about the fragility of the civic fabric when too many people are stuck in survival mode.
And yet, inside that fragility, there are glimmers of resilience…
Even in the midst of financial strain, generosity hasn’t disappeared. Nearly one in five people who say they’re struggling financially still managed to donate money or supplies to community organizations in the past month—a quiet reminder that solidarity often survives even when resources are scarce.
And despite trust being down across almost every institution we track, nonprofits remain a rare bright spot: 54% of struggling Americans report having at least some trust in them, higher than any other institution on the list. In a moment where faith in systems is shaky, it’s telling that people still see nonprofits as a place where good gets done.
These sparks are worth paying attention to, because they show us what still works and what might be worth building on. So we wonder:
How do we address widening gaps in financial security across gender, geography, and income before they calcify into permanent divides?
How can local leaders strengthen the safety nets and civic connections that keep communities from fraying when hardship hits?
Are there ways to harness the generosity people still show in hard times into lasting civic engagement?
This is what makes the rising tide of financial struggle so urgent. It’s not just an economic story but a civic one. When more people feel they’re slipping from comfort into survival mode, we risk losing not only their trust in institutions but also their ability to participate in the life of their communities.
When people have room to breathe, communities have room to grow.
Murmuration is a non-profit that strengthens community-driven change at the local level. By equipping local organizations with powerful data, technology, and insights, Murmuration helps them amplify community voices, build collective power, and drive solutions that reflect the lived realities of the people they serve. murmuration.org