Since 2013, the Federal Reserve Board has conducted the SHED—the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking. It measures the economic well-being of U.S. households and identifies potential risks to their finances, with categories such as credit access and behaviors, savings, retirement, economic fragility, and education and student loans.
Our FRED graph above shows the shares of adults who report “doing okay financially” or “living comfortably” separated into levels of educational attainment. Higher levels of formal education are consistently associated with higher reports of comfortable living conditions. More education generally means more human capital and income, which results in a more positive overall financial self-assessment.
In the 2025 SHED, 73% of adults reported okay or comfortable financial conditions. But certain demographic groups, including low-income, young, and Black adults, saw meaningful declines in their economic well-being. You can find these data in FRED.
How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking: At Least Doing Okay Financially: Education, Bachelor’s Degree or More.” Click on the “Edit Graph” button and select the “Add Line” tab to search for “Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking: At Least Doing Okay Financially: Education, Some College / Technical or Associate Degree.” Don’t forget to click on “Add data series.” Repeat the last two steps to add data for the other series in the graph.
Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo.