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Over half of women in the U.S. say they're struggling to pay at least one kind of expense, survey shows
By
Hiranmayi Srinivasan
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Full Bio
Hiranmayi Srinivasan is an Associate Editor for Investopedia. She has covered personal finance topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, and economic news at Dotdash Meredith since 2021, and has experience working in digital and broadcast newsrooms.
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Published May 14, 2024
12:28 PM EDT
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Key Takeaways
- Nearly half (44%) of women say they have less than $250 left over each month after paying for monthly expenses like housing, food and other household costs, transportation, child care and more, according to Investopedia and Real Simple's 2024 Her Money Mindset survey.
- The survey found that over half (54%) of women in America are struggling to pay at least one kind of expense.
- The survey found 60% of women surveyed have never asked for a raise, and 69% have never asked for a promotion.
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After paying all of their monthly expenses for housing, food and other household costs, transportation, child care and more, 44% of women say they have less than $250 left over each month, according to Investopedia and Real Simple’s 2024 Her Money Mindset survey. The survey found that, on average, women have $422 left over each month after spending on necessities.
As the cost of living for Americans climbs, the survey also found that over half (54%) of women in America are struggling to pay at least one kind of expense.
Forty percent of women surveyed said they’re struggling to cover household expenses such as food and toiletries. Household expenses is the category they were most likely to say they struggle to cover, followed by transportation at 29%, and housing costs at 27%.
The survey found millennial and younger women are likely to find it more difficult to cover these types of expenses, and a greater share of their spending goes toward necessities at 57%. About one-quarter of women respondents who are millennials and younger also said they have student loan debt.
According to a 2023 report by the Federal Reserve on family finances in the U.S., the average transaction account, which includes checking, savings, money market, call accounts, and prepaid debit cards, had a balance of $62,500 in 2022. However, the median value of these accounts was lower at $8,000. With women in our survey reporting they have less than $250 after paying bills each month, it makes saving toward that balance even harder.
60% of Women Say They’ve Never Asked For a Raise
Adding to women’s economic anxiety over cash outflows is another startling stat about their inflows: The survey found 60% of women have never asked for a raise, and 69% have never asked for a promotion. The gender wage gap has narrowed over the years, but women in the U.S. still made about 84 cents for every dollar that men earned in 2022, according to a 2023 report by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Methodology
Real Simple and Investopedia surveyed 2,002 American women (aged 18+) from Jan. 9 to Jan. 22, 2024. The survey was fielded online via a self-administered questionnaire to an opt-in panel of respondents from a market research vendor. Quotas were implemented in sampling using benchmarks from American Community Survey (ACS) from the U.S. Census Bureau for region, age groups, race/ethnicity, and household income. Respondents must have reported at least partially managing their own finances in order to qualify.
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Research and analysis by
Amanda Morelli
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Amanda is the Senior Director of Data Journalism at Dotdash Meredith (Investopedia's parent company) and oversees data journalism projects and strategy for brands across the company.
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Article Sources
Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in oureditorial policy.
Federal Reserve Board Publication. "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 - 2022, Page 16."
U.S. Census Bureau. "Income in the United States: 2022," Page 10.
