Younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to say they’re doing better financially than they were a year ago, according to the latest “NBC News Stay Tuned” poll.
In the mid-April survey, released Thursday, 27 percent of respondents aged 18-29 say their personal finance situation is “better today” than it was one year ago.
That number, though small, decreases as respondents get older. The share of respondents who say their situation is “better today” includes 24 percent of 30-44-year-old respondents; 21 percent of 45-64-year-old respondents; and 18 percent of respondents 65 years old and older.
Still, in every generation, respondents are more likely to say their personal finance situation is “worse today” than “better today.”
Those who say it’s worse include 29 percent of respondents ages 18-29; 35 percent of respondents ages 30-44; 36 percent of respondents ages 45-64; and 32 percent of respondents ages 65 and older.
And the plurality of each generation reports their personal finance situation as “about the same” as a year ago: 43 percent of respondents ages 18-29; 41 percent of respondents ages 30-44; 43 percent of respondents ages 45-64; and 50 percent of respondents ages 65 and older.
The survey was conducted on April 11-20, 2025, and included 19,682 adults. The margin of error is 2.2 percentage points.