📊 Original Research · 2025 Annual Report

The 2025
Money Report

How America really manages money — based on data from thousands of financial health assessments, personality tests, and tool interactions on DigitalWealthSource. The most honest picture of American personal finance available.

10,247 respondents All 50 states represented Ages 18–75 Published April 2025

Executive Summary

The State of American Personal Finance in 2025

For the first time, DigitalWealthSource is publishing aggregated, anonymized data from the thousands of financial health assessments, money personality tests, and tool interactions completed on our platform. The findings paint a detailed — and sometimes sobering — picture of where Americans actually stand financially in 2025.

The headline finding: the average American scores 487 out of 850 on our Financial Health Score — equivalent to a "C-minus" financial grade. That score masks enormous variation across generations, income levels, and geography. The detailed breakdown follows.

487

Average Financial Health Score (out of 850)

68%

Have less than 3 months emergency savings

$47K

Average non-mortgage debt carried by respondents

34%

Have started investing outside of a workplace plan

Finding #1

Financial Health Scores by Generation

Respondents who completed our 15-question Financial Health Score assessment received scores on the same 0–850 scale used in the assessment. The generational breakdown reveals a clear pattern: financial health improves dramatically with age — but not as much as it should given the additional decades of earning and saving opportunity.

Average Financial Health Score by Generation

Gen Z (18–27)

412

Millennials (28–43)

481

Gen X (44–59)

553

Boomers (60–75)

614

📋 Methodology Note

Financial Health Score is calculated from 15 questions across 6 categories: emergency savings, debt-to-income ratio, investment activity, insurance coverage, retirement savings rate, and credit health. Scores range from 0–850, calibrated to mirror credit score intuition. Self-reported data; not independently verified.

78%

of Gen Z respondents have no investment account outside of a possible workplace plan

The most common reason cited: "I don't have enough money to start." Our data suggests this is a knowledge gap, not an income gap — most investment platforms now have no minimums.

41%

of Gen X respondents report being "behind" on retirement savings by their own assessment

Gen X faces a unique squeeze: peak earning years coinciding with college tuition costs for children and early elder care responsibilities for aging parents.

Finding #2

Emergency Fund Coverage Is the Most Widespread Problem

Emergency fund adequacy was the single lowest-scoring category across all respondents — significantly lower than any other financial health dimension. This is not a generational issue: it cuts across all age groups and income levels.

Emergency Fund Coverage — % of Respondents by Savings Runway

Zero savings

22%

Under 1 month

24%

1–3 months

22%

3–6 months

18%

6+ months

14%

68% of respondents have less than 3 months of emergency savings — leaving them one job loss or medical event away from financial crisis.

DigitalWealthSource 2025 Money Report · n=10,247

Finding #3

Debt: The Generational Burden

Total non-mortgage debt — including credit cards, student loans, auto loans, and personal loans — varies dramatically by generation but is a significant factor in financial health scores across all age groups.

Generation	Avg Non-Mortgage Debt	Primary Debt Type	% Carrying High-Interest Debt (>15%)
Gen Z (18–27)	$18,400	Student loans, credit cards	44%
Millennials (28–43)	$62,300	Student loans, auto, credit cards	51%
Gen X (44–59)	$48,700	Auto loans, credit cards, HELOC	38%
Boomers (60–75)	$22,100	Credit cards, auto loans	29%

51%

of Millennial respondents carry at least one account with an interest rate above 15%

Millennials entered the workforce during the 2008 recession and carry the highest combined student loan and consumer debt burden of any living generation.

$157K

average additional wealth built by respondents who eliminated high-interest debt within 24 months vs those who carried it 5+ years

Based on projection modeling from our Debt-Free Countdown tool — the wealth gap from high-interest debt compounds dramatically over time.

Finding #4

Financial DNA: The Most Common Money Personalities

Respondents who completed our Financial DNA Test revealed their dominant money personality type. The distribution shows that "Wealth Builder" traits — the personality most associated with long-term financial success — are present as a dominant trait in only 28% of respondents.

Dominant Financial DNA Trait — % of All Respondents

Risk Avoider

31%

Wealth Builder

28%

Money Worrier

19%

Status Spender

12%

Money Avoider

10%

Critically, Wealth Builders scored an average of 641 on the Financial Health Score — 154 points higher than the overall average of 487. Risk Avoiders scored 521. Money Avoiders averaged just 398. The correlation between money personality and financial health is among the strongest findings in this report.

Finding #5

What Separates High Scorers From Everyone Else

We analyzed the habits and behaviors of respondents who scored 700+ on the Financial Health Score (the top 14% of respondents) against those who scored below 400. Five behaviors showed the strongest separation between these groups.

% of High Scorers (700+) vs Low Scorers (<400) Reporting Each Habit

Automates savings

89% high / 12% low

Has written financial goals

78% high / 8% low

Reviews finances monthly

84% high / 11% low

Maxes employer 401k match

94% high / 31% low

No high-interest debt

88% high / 9% low

The single strongest predictor of financial health isn't income — it's automation. 89% of our top scorers automate their savings. Only 12% of low scorers do.

DigitalWealthSource 2025 Money Report

Finding #6

Geographic Financial Health Varies Wildly

Respondents from all 50 states completed the Financial Health Score. Average scores varied by more than 160 points between the highest and lowest-scoring states — a gap that reflects differences in cost of living, median income, educational access, and financial literacy resources.

Top 5

Highest average Financial Health Scores by region

Pacific Northwest, Upper Midwest, New England, Mountain West, and Mid-Atlantic regions consistently score highest — driven by higher median incomes, lower cost-of-living ratios, and stronger financial literacy education.

163 pts

Point gap between highest and lowest-scoring states on average Financial Health Score

This gap represents years of wealth-building potential lost to geography, access, and education inequality — the core reason free, accessible financial education matters.

The geographic variation in our data points to a fundamental problem: financial literacy resources are not equally distributed. High-cost metro areas with well-educated populations tend to score higher — not because they are inherently better with money, but because they have more access to financial education and guidance.

📋 Citation & Methodology

Data sourced from anonymized, aggregated responses from DigitalWealthSource platform users who completed the Financial Health Score (n=10,247), Financial DNA Test (n=7,831), and associated financial tools between January–March 2025. All data is self-reported and anonymized. No personally identifiable information is collected or used. Results represent users of DigitalWealthSource and may not be nationally representative. For press inquiries and data requests, contact us at our contact page. Full methodology available in our Methodology document.

Citation format: DigitalWealthSource. (2025). The 2026 Money Report: How America Really Manages Money. DigitalWealthSource.com. Retrieved from https://www.digitalwealthsource.com/2026-money-report

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The 2025Money Report