Greetings—

More than half of all people in the US—52 percent—lack the resources to thrive in today’s economy, new research from Urban Institute experts finds. Most of these people are not poor but are struggling and unable to maintain a sense of financial security for their future and their children’s. This innovative report develops a comprehensive measure of the true cost of economic security (TCES) and what it would take to thrive, not just survive, in the US today.

The researchers find that:

More than 80 percent of people in single-parent families fall below the TCES threshold. Meanwhile, half of all people living in families with two children and two adults under age 65 lack the resources to cover their costs.
Three out of five children live in families with resources below the TCES threshold, compared with 49 percent of adults ages 18 to 64 and 47 percent of adults age 65 and older.
The share of people with resources below the TCES threshold varies by race and ethnicity: 42 percent for white, non-Hispanic people, 71 percent for Hispanic people, 67 percent for Black people, and 46 percent for Asian people and Pacific Islanders.
The chance that an individual falls below the TCES threshold is slightly lower for those living in metro areas at 51 percent than for those in nonmetro areas at 54 percent. Across regions of the country, the TCES rate ranges from a low of 47 percent in the Midwest to a high of 57 percent in the West.

Read the report to learn more, and join the research team today at 1:30 p.m. ET for a virtual discussion of their findings.

If you have questions or would like to speak with the research team, please email me.

Sincerely,