60 percent of U.S. consumers across all income levels living paycheck to paycheck: report

About 60 percent of U.S. consumers reported that they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to new research.

A new report from Pymnts and LendingClub found that 59.8 percent of U.S. consumers across all income levels reported living paycheck to paycheck in August, a slight downtick from the 61.4 percent who reported the same thing in July.

Those living paycheck to paycheck include 45 percent of high-income consumers — those earning more than $100,000 per year. 

Sixty-two percent of those making between $50,000 to $100,000 each year reported living paycheck to paycheck this month, and about 76 percent of those making less than $50,000 annually reported the same thing.

These numbers are unchanged from August 2022, the report noted.

The report also said that nearly 20 percent of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck report issues with paying bills while nearly 41 percent who live paycheck to paycheck do not have issues paying bills.

This report is in line with earlier reports this year that have also found that roughly 60 percent of Americans report living paycheck to paycheck. A earlier report conducted by the same organizations found that 9.3 million more people reported living paycheck to paycheck in 2022 than the previous year.

The report also found that almost half of all consumers say that their financial stability changes seasonally. This includes about one-third of consumers who say they do not live paycheck to paycheck.

The top reasons that paycheck-to-paycheck consumers experience seasonal financial distress is paying for family members and nonessential spending — which ticks up in December due to the holiday season. More than one-third of all consumers say December is a month where they experience financial distress.

This survey was conducted among 4,218 U.S. consumers between Aug. 2-15.