Roughly half of Americans fall short of the annual income needed to cover their basic needs, according to new research.<\/p>\n
A U.S. family with children needs about $145,000 in income to be considered economically secure, according to a March 16\u00a0report<\/a> from the Urban Institute. About 49% of Americans live below that financial threshold, the nonpartisan think tank found.<\/p>\n In 2024 (the latest available data), the median household income for married couples in the U.S. was $128,700, U.S. Census data shows<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ingredients for economic security\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Urban’s analysis, economic security today includes having enough money to pay for:<\/p>\n Adequate foodClothingHousing\u00a0Health careChild careTransportation The research comes as many Americans continue to feel the pinch<\/a> of rising prices, with even some six-figure households saying they are struggling to pay for basics like utilities<\/a> and health care<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n To be sure, costs can vary widely from person to person. For instance, households with employer-based health insurance typically pay about 25% of coverage costs, with employers covering the rest. But some Americans \u2014 such as those buying plans through the Affordable Care Act \u2014 may not get a break, especially after enhanced premium tax credits expired in January.<\/p>\n Riding the “hamster wheel”<\/p>\n While Urban’s measure differs from the poverty rate, which measures extreme hardship, it signals that even people with good-paying jobs may still not be earning enough to feel as if they are thriving.\u00a0<\/p>\n “That is consistent with the experiences that we’re hearing from people \u2014 that they might not be destitute, but some of them are skipping bills \u2014 and some of them are making their bills on a regular basis, but they’re not getting ahead,” economist Gregory Acs, vice president of Urban’s tax and income supports division and a co-author of the report, told CBS News.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added, “They feel like they’re on the hamster wheel economy.”<\/p>\n Earning above the $145,000 annual income threshold allows people to get ahead and feel financially secure, the analysis said.<\/p>\n “If you have more people feeling that their efforts are rewarded, that they have a stronger sense of autonomy, they are able to devote more time to their own communities, to their own families,” Acs said. “Parents can invest more in their kids \u2014 time, energy, money.”<\/p>\n The real poverty line?<\/p>\n The analysis echoes a viral\u00a0Substack post from 2025<\/a> by Wall Street strategist Michael Green that posited that the actual poverty line in the U.S. \u2014 or how much you have to earn to afford necessities like food and shelter \u2014 is in reality much higher than the government’s official number, which stands<\/a> at $33,000 for a family of four.<\/p>\n By Green’s calculation, Americans who earn less than $140,000 should be considered poor because their income isn’t sufficient to pay for basics like housing, childcare and food \u2014 similar to the measures the Urban Institute used in its analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n “He called it a poverty rate \u2014 I think it actually was more of an economic security rate,” Acs said, referring to Green’s post. “His intuition, in his back-of-the-envelope calculation, is broadly consistent with the way we added things up.”<\/p>\n The same share of Americans likely remains below the economic security threshold in 2026, Acs noted, given that wages and inflation have been rising relatively in tandem in the last several years. Still, some households may be facing more acute financial stress this year, such as those who\u00a0lost enhanced premium health credits<\/a> for the Affordable Care Act plans when they expired in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n Who struggles most<\/p>\n The share of people who live below Urban’s economic security threshold varies by race, age and family composition, the analysis found. Single-parent households have among the lowest rates of economic security, with about 90% below the research firm’s proposed threshold.\u00a0<\/p>\n About 8 in 10 U.S. renters fall below the economic security line, roughly double the rate of homeowners, the research found, which also noted that about 45% of families with one member over the age of 65 lack economic security.<\/p>\n Under-65 households without children need about $95,900 in annual earnings to meet basic needs, less than families with kids, largely because they don’t face child care costs, according to Urban.<\/p>\n Families with at least one adult over 65 require $108,500 for economic security. While they don’t require childcare, older households tend to have higher healthcare costs, the analysis found.<\/p>\n There are also differences between families who live in cities versus in suburban or rural areas, the study found. For instance, households with children who live in cities require about $149,000 to meet their costs, while those outside of metropolitan areas require $129,500, the analysis found.<\/p>\n
Postsecondary education\u00a0Student loan repaymentsSavings for emergencies and retirementAdditional costs, such as for personal care products<\/p>\n