Fed survey reveals inflation, rising prices are Americans' top financial fears

The affordability crisis shrinking wallets and tightening household budgets across the United States is prompting a solid, nonstop fear ofinflation's impact among consumers and their families.

And this was before the 11-week-old Iran War jumpstarted the cost of just about everything around here, especially the universal gas pains we're all feeling.

Rising prices across all goods and services have the majority of American households on edge, according to the Federal Reserve's Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households survey released May 13.

Nine of 10 U.S. adults (91%) said that prices continued to be their most common financial concern, unchanged from the 2024 survey.

The report drives home that Americans' views of financial concerns about income, job security, credit, savings and investments remained basically unchanged during the first year of President Donald Trump's second term.

"Concerns about price increases eased slightly yet remained the most common financial concern among U.S. adults,'' the report said, though certain demographic groups, including low-income, young, and Black adults, saw meaningful declines.

• The survey also found a softening labor market with a small increase in layoffs and slightly fewer voluntary quits in 2025, indicating additional challenges for workers and job seekers.
• Fifteen percent of adults under age 30 were not working, reflecting the "low-hire, low-fire" employment market.
• In 2025, 49 percent of adults under age 30 lived with a parent, up by 6 percentage points since 2022, and up 12 percentage points since 2019, just before the pandemic.

"As we work to support a strong and vibrant economy, it's critical for the Federal Reserve to understand the economic experiences of families and communities," Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael S. Barr said in a press release.

The Fed report "provides valuable data on how households are dealing with evolving financial opportunities and challenges,'' he added.

Consumer, business inflation rates spiked in April

The annual Fed survey of nearly 13,000 Americans was conducted in October 2025, months before the Iran War drove up gasoline prices, sparking the fastest inflation in years.

The Fed report came the same day the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the April Producer Price Indexjumped 6%, the biggest year-over-year increase since 2022.

The April Consumer Price Index also came in hot on May 13, jumping to 3.8% on a year-on-year basis, outstripping workers' earnings for the first time in three years and marking the highest inflation print since the post-pandemic recovery in May 2023.

Both prints led traders to adjust the next Fed rate cut to late 2027, according to the CME Group FedWatch tool.

"Inflation is sticky and accelerating. The core reading confirms a deeper structural trend, especially in services," David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation, told CNBC. "The Hormuz crisis is aggravating the problem, but this goes way beyond oil."

Fed report looks into Americans' financial lives

The Fed report examines the financial lives of U.S. adults and their families.

Results from the survey continued to show stability in overall financial well-being despite the solid price concerns.

Related: Hot inflation report throws cold water on Fed rate cuts

• The report indicates that 73% of adults reported either doing okay or living comfortably financially, consistent with 2024 but below the overall high of 78% in 2021.
• The respondents who could cover a $400 emergency expense using cash or its equivalent also remained unchanged from 2024 at 63%.

Fed report measured AI use for the first time

Questions about generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace were a new category in the 2025 survey.

• The one-in-four workers who used generative AI were more likely to view AI as beneficial for their careers than they were to worry that AI would replace their jobs.
• Workers with a graduate degree were more than four times more likely to use AI than those with a high-school degree or less.
• Eighty-one percent of people who used generative AI agreed that it saves them time.

Consumers report negative outlook on overall U.S. economy

In contrast to people's perceptions of their own financial situation, consumer views on the nation's K-shaped economy worsened over the past year and remained much more pessimistic than before the pandemic.

• Only about one-fourth of adults rated the national economy as "good" or "excellent.
• This is down 3 percentage points from 2024 and 24 percentage points from 2019, before the pandemic.

Related: BofA drops blunt warning about Fed rate cuts

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 4:37 AM.