While the pace of inflation has slowed in recent months, prices have been well above normal levels for more than three years, which has put pressure on the bottom line of average Americans.
To get a sense of just how much pressure, Forbes Advisor surveyed Americans from the country’s 30 biggest cities to see which residents are having the hardest time building up the balance of their high-yield savings account.
According to the report, more than 30% of big-city residents reported not being able to save as much in 2024 as last year, while another 20% said they couldn’t save at all, and just 16% increased their emergency fund over the past 12 months.
Top 5 Cities Where Saving Is Most Difficult
1. Jacksonville, Florida
Percentage of city residents surveyed who report:
Having no emergency savings: 59% (Ranks 1st study-wide)Not being able to save at all in 2024: 34% (Ranks 1st study-wide)Dipping into savings every month: 28% (Ranks 2nd study-wide)
2. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Percentage of city residents surveyed who report:
Having no emergency savings: 51% (Ranks 4th study-wide)Food prices make it difficult to save: 65% (Ranks 4th study-wide)Debt makes it difficult to save: 41% (Ranks 4th study-wide)
3. Fort Worth, Texas
Percentage of city residents surveyed who report:
Debt makes it hard to save: 43% (Ranks 1st study-wide)Saving less in 2024 than in 2023: 40% (Ranks 1st study-wide)Food prices make it difficult to save: 68% (Ranks third study-wide)
4. El Paso, Texas
Percentage of city residents surveyed who report:
Food prices make it difficult to save: 72% (Ranks 1st study-wide)Debt makes it hard to save: 42% (Ranks 3rd study-wide)Not having emergency savings: 55% (Ranks 2nd study-wide)
5. Dallas, Texas and Denver, Colorado (Tie)
Percentage of Dallas residents surveyed who report:
Food prices make it difficult to save: 69% (Ranks 2nd study-wide)Transportation expenses make it hard to save: 24% (Ranks 3rd study-wide)Saving less in 2024 than in 2023: 38% (Ranks 15th study-wide)
Percentage of Denver residents surveyed who report:
Dipping into savings every month: 24% (Ranks 5th study-wide)High taxes make it difficult to save: 38% (Ranks 6th study-wide)Debt makes it difficult to save: 39% (Ranks 6th study-wide)
Survey Methodology
Forbes Advisor commissioned Talker Research to survey 4,500 U.S. adults (150 from each of the 30 most-populated cities), to identify in which cities people have the hardest time saving. Forbes considered nine metrics spanning two key categories, listed below with their corresponding weights.
Lack of savings
The percentage of residents who report:
Not being able to save at all in 2024: 25% of total scoreDipping into savings at least monthly: 15% of total scoreHaving no emergency savings: 15% of total scoreBeing able to save less in 2024 than in 2023: 10% of total score
Barriers to saving money
The percentage of residents who report the following barriers preventing them from saving money:
High taxes: 10% of total scoreRent and mortgage payments: 10% of total scoreExisting debt: 5% of total scoreFood prices: 5% of total scoreTransportation expenses: 5% of total score
For more information, check out the full study here.
