43% of Americans Can’t Cover a $1,000 Emergency with Savings — And Women Are Hit Hardest

A new 2026 Financial Wellness Survey from U.S. News & World Report paints a sobering picture of Womens’ emergency savings. More than two in five respondents (43%) say they could not cover a $1,000 emergency expense from savings alone, and one-third report they don’t have enough saved to cover even a single month of living expenses. Among those who do have an emergency fund, the median balance is just $5,000—half of what respondents reported in last year’s survey—while the median “target” they’d like to reach is $10,000. The gap between what people have and what they feel they need is widening.

The survey also underscores a persistent gender gap in financial resilience. Nearly half of women (48%) say they don’t have an emergency fund at all, compared with about one-third of men. And while 64% of men say they could handle a $1,000 emergency using savings, only 52% of women can say the same. High living costs, stagnant wages, and, for many, the return of higher student loan payments are all cited as key reasons it’s hard to save more. At the same time, nearly a quarter of respondents admit they tapped their emergency savings for holiday spending—a reminder that without clear boundaries and habits, even well‑intentioned funds can quietly erode.

If you’d like to read the full analysis and see the detailed charts, you can find the original article by Greg Garrison at U.S. News & World Report here: Survey: 43% of Americans Don’t Have Savings to Pay for a $1,000 Emergency.