U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) said on Twitter Tuesday night that nearly 10 million more Americans lived paycheck-to-paycheck in 2022 than in 2021.
“The reality of this economy: there were 9.3 million more Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck at the end of 2022 than the previous year,” Britt tweeted. “In the same time frame, the average credit card user’s balance went up 13% in our country, while real average weekly earnings fell 3.1%.”
According to the New York Post, over half of the people making six-figure salaries admitted to living paycheck-to-paycheck last year, likely due to high inflation. The previous year, only 42% of people making $100,000 or more admitted to the same.
Further, nearly 8 million of the 9.3 million individuals who just started living paycheck-to-paycheck last year were six-figure earners.
But most people don’t make six-figure salaries. The U.S. Census Bureau in 2020 claimed the median household income in the United States was $67,521. Meanwhile, overall prices rose 6.5% in December alone.
It’s also difficult to tell how Alabama households, mainly, are doing as far as living paycheck-to-paycheck.
According to more recent state-by-state statistics from the World Population Review, Alabama has one of the lowest median household incomes in the country at $52,035. Still, it is one of the cheapest places to live, more expensive than only Mississippi, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Variety in spending habits, lifestyle, location, assets, liabilities and other factors could also heavily influence a household’s ability to have money to save and invest at the end of each month.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email will.blakely@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
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