{"version":"2026-state-of-emergency-savings","name":"SwitchWize State of American Emergency Savings","snapshotDate":"2026","citeAs":"SwitchWize, \"The State of American Emergency Savings (2026 Report).\" Retrieved 2026.","sourcePage":"https://www.switchwize.com/learn/state-of-american-emergency-savings-2026","note":"Survey methods and definitions differ, so most figures are directional and rounded. shareCannotCover400Pct and shareAtLeastDoingOkayFinanciallyPct are the Federal Reserve's own live SHED series (all-adults cut), not a rounded third-party citation.","metrics":{"medianEmergencySavingsUsd":500,"shareNoEmergencySavingsPct":30,"shareCannotCover400Pct":37,"shareCannotCover1000Pct":43,"shareAtLeastDoingOkayFinanciallyPct":73,"medianAmongThoseWithFundUsd":5000,"medianBoomerUsd":2000,"medianGenZUsd":400},"guidance":{"starterFundUsd":1000,"fullCushionMonthsRange":[3,6],"cushionBasis":"essential expenses"},"sources":[{"label":"Federal Reserve, Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), via FRED","detail":"Share of all adults who could cover a $400 emergency with cash or its equivalent, and share at least doing okay financially (2025 wave) — live series, not transcribed from the Bulletin PDF.","url":"https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNEXPECTEDEXPENSESALLADUL"},{"label":"U.S. News","detail":"2026 financial wellness survey: share unable to cover a $1,000 emergency.","url":"https://www.usnews.com/banking/articles/2026-financial-wellness-survey"},{"label":"Empower","detail":"Median emergency-savings balance (~$500) and ~$5,000 median among those with a fund.","url":"https://www.empower.com/the-currency/money/safety-net-emergency-savings-research"},{"label":"Bankrate and Federal Reserve","detail":"Share with no emergency savings and generational differences."}],"methodology":{"summary":"The gap is structural rather than a discipline failure: households most exposed to income shocks have the least room to save. A starter fund of $1,000 or one month of essentials, held in a separate high-yield savings account and funded automatically, is the practical first step before the full three-to-six-month cushion.","caveat":"\"Having an emergency fund\" and \"could find $400\" are different questions, so surveys land on different numbers; treat the non-SHED figures as directional."}}