Question
How many Americans could pay a surprise $400 bill in cash?
Short answer
Sixty-three percent of US adults said they would pay a $400 emergency expense with cash, savings or a credit card paid off at the next statement, according to the Federal Reserve's survey taken in October 2025.
Where this answer comes from
How close is the average family to losing their home?
More than a third of US adults would not cover a surprise $400 expense with cash or its equivalent, the Federal Reserve found in October 2025. In our film Home, Treger Strasberg tells how a $25 rent hike cost a friend in Detroit everything she owned.
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