Middle-income Americans continue to feel financial strain and say their incomes are being overtaken by the rising cost of living, according to a new analysis by Primerica.

The financial services firm released the latest edition of its quarterly Primerica US Middle-Income Financial Security Monitor survey on Thursday, which showed that 68 percent of middle-income Americans said their income is below the cost of living, a figure that has remained steady over the past two years.

The analysis found that 49 percent of middle-income American families said their top financial goal for the coming year was simply making ends meet the increase in costsindicating that they do not foresee any relief in the short term.

Primerica CEO Glenn J. Williams told FOX Business in an interview that, “As you’d expect after several years of this pressure, the attitudes of middle-income families have stabilized — they’re not getting worse, but they certainly haven’t changed and they’re still not getting significantly better.”

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Primerica found that middle-income Americans prioritize keeping pace with rising costs as they deal with the impact of several years of rising costs. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

“Many of them are in a deficit position, they have used savings or well credit cards to fill the gap,” Williams added, noting that even as cost-of-living pressures begin to ease and wages outpace price increases, they won’t feel the benefit immediately because of credit card debt or the need to rebuild savings.

Find enough money left over in the budget to save not only big purchases such as homes or cars, but also to build up an emergency savings fund that can be tapped in unexpected circumstances.

The Primerica survey found that 70 percent of middle-income households said their ability to save for the future is “not so good” or “poor,” down from 73 percent in the previous quarter, but little changed since the end of 2023.

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Williams said the rising cost of everyday goods strained middle-income budgets in recent years. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We still see a significant group who are managing their monthly finances saying do I need a new washing machine or a new carI’ll just have to delay it because I can’t afford it right now,” he explained.

“Honestly, that’s probably the right thing to do,” Williams added. “If you can have delayed gratification, you can wait on those purchases until you have more breathing room. So while it’s unfortunate that they have to do it, it’s actually a good response to financial pressure.”

The proportion of respondents who said they had one emergency fund that would cover an expense of $1,000 or more rose slightly from 58% to 62% last year, although the figure is down from the 64% reported in the first quarter of 2025.

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Some middle-income Americans have put off major purchases to rebuild their finances after cost pressures in recent years. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“As Americans, we are chronically under-savers compared to citizens of other countries; we tend to live closer to the edge,” Williams noted. “We’re seeing people start to rebuild a little bit and get back to where they were.”

“I wouldn’t say $1,000 is enough for an emergency fund for most families, but it’s a good start,” she explained. “One of the things that’s been our kind of core advice since the beginning for 49 years of doing this: Build an emergency fund that’s at least six months’ worth of income if you can. That’s very difficult for most middle-income families, but it’s a good goal.”

The Primerica survey found that the share of middle-income Americans who expect make the economy worse over the next year it fell to 59% from 63% in the previous quarter, well below the recent high of 76% in the March 2025 edition of the report.

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Williams noted that potential take-home pay increases in 2026 could provide some relief for middle-income Americans and “put a few extra dollars in their pocket” like last year. tax reforms take effect