In a typical week, four in 10 American adults go “cashless”, a sharp increase from 29% in 2018 and 24% in 2015, according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center.
Only 14% of Americans say all or almost all of their purchases are made with cash in a typical week. And almost 60% of Americans say some of their purchases are paid using cash.
Released October 4, 2022, the Pew Research Center report is based on a survey of 6,034 U.S. adults conducted July 5 through 17, 2022.
Key Takeaways
- American adults with lower incomes are more reliant on cash. Three in 10 Americans with household incomes less than $30,000 a year use cash for all or almost all of their purchases.
- The number of Americans using cash for purchases has steadily decreased over time, especially for adults who have high annual household income
- Almost six in 10 (59%) of American adults earning $100,000 or more make no purchases weekly with cash, up from 43% in 2018 and 36% in 2015
- Differences in cash usage can be seen in race and ethnicity. A little over one quarter (26%) of Black adults and 21% of Hispanic adults use cash weekly for all or almost all their purchases, compared to 12% of White adults
- Majority of adults (58%) try to have some cash on hand
- Carrying cash varies by age: adults under 50 (45%) are less likely to have cash on hand than those over 50 (71%)
- A little over half of adults younger than 50 (54%) compared to 28% of adults older than 50 are worried whether they have cash on hand
- About the same number of Black (37 percent) and Hispanic (36 percent) adults report going online on an almost-constant basis, while White adults (28 percent) report going online almost constantly
Given the COVID pandemic has brought about so many changes, I’m not surprised how cash usage has changed since 2018 when the last survey focusing on money and spending was conducted.
Did any of the survey results surprise you?
