60.4 out of 100. That is the first reading of NerdWallet’s new Financial Resilience Index, for May 2026, on a scale where 0 means no resilience and 100 means perfect resilience. NerdWallet’s read: consumers have plenty of room to grow.
The index is monthly. Senior economist Elizabeth Renter announced it, saying she was “very excited to launch” what she called a measure of household economic fortitude. NerdWallet worked with The Harris Poll to build it.
How it is built
Three measures feed the index, each from equally weighted, nationally representative survey questions. Financial security covers how people feel about their finances. Financial strength is their current capacity. Economic outlook is how they see the economy around them. Renter said the difference from other closely watched releases is that it measures current financial capacity, not just sentiment. Each month, she said, “we will know” how insulated households are from potential economic disruption.
By the numbers
The launch findings:
74% of Americans feel in control of their day-to-day finances. 76% are confident they can pay all their bills on time this month. 63% have enough cash on hand to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. 37% will have to rely on credit to manage at least some expenses this month. And 66% believe the US economy will enter a recession in the next 12 months.
The split by group is what you would expect. High-income Americans and older generations score as more resilient. There were also differences between parents and non-parents, which Renter called interesting without giving figures. She said she looks forward to watching how the measures change over the coming months.
