๐ Original Research ยท 2025 Annual Report
The 2025
Money Report
How America really manages money โ based on data from 10,000+ financial health assessments, personality tests, and tool interactions on DigitalWealthSource. The most honest picture of American personal finance available.
10,247 respondents
All 50 states represented
Ages 18โ75
Published April 2025
Executive Summary
The State of American Personal Finance in 2025
For the first time, DigitalWealthSource is publishing aggregated, anonymized data from the thousands of financial health assessments, money personality tests, and tool interactions completed on our platform. The findings paint a detailed โ and sometimes sobering โ picture of where Americans actually stand financially in 2025.
The headline finding: the average American scores 487 out of 850 on our Financial Health Score โ equivalent to a "C-minus" financial grade. That score masks enormous variation across generations, income levels, and geography. The detailed breakdown follows.
487
Average Financial Health Score (out of 850)
68%
Have less than 3 months emergency savings
$47K
Average non-mortgage debt carried by respondents
34%
Have started investing outside of a workplace plan
Finding #1
Financial Health Scores by Generation
Respondents who completed our 15-question Financial Health Score assessment received scores on the same 0โ850 scale used in the assessment. The generational breakdown reveals a clear pattern: financial health improves dramatically with age โ but not as much as it should given the additional decades of earning and saving opportunity.
Average Financial Health Score by Generation
๐ Methodology Note
Financial Health Score is calculated from 15 questions across 6 categories: emergency savings, debt-to-income ratio, investment activity, insurance coverage, retirement savings rate, and credit health. Scores range from 0โ850, calibrated to mirror credit score intuition. Self-reported data; not independently verified.
78%
of Gen Z respondents have no investment account outside of a possible workplace plan
The most common reason cited: "I don't have enough money to start." Our data suggests this is a knowledge gap, not an income gap โ most investment platforms now have no minimums.
41%
of Gen X respondents report being "behind" on retirement savings by their own assessment
Gen X faces a unique squeeze: peak earning years coinciding with college tuition costs for children and early elder care responsibilities for aging parents.
Finding #2
Emergency Fund Coverage Is the Most Widespread Problem
Emergency fund adequacy was the single lowest-scoring category across all respondents โ significantly lower than any other financial health dimension. This is not a generational issue: it cuts across all age groups and income levels.
Emergency Fund Coverage โ % of Respondents by Savings Runway
68% of respondents have less than 3 months of emergency savings โ leaving them one job loss or medical event away from financial crisis.
DigitalWealthSource 2025 Money Report ยท n=10,247
Finding #3
Debt: The Generational Burden
Total non-mortgage debt โ including credit cards, student loans, auto loans, and personal loans โ varies dramatically by generation but is a significant factor in financial health scores across all age groups.
| Generation | Avg Non-Mortgage Debt | Primary Debt Type | % Carrying High-Interest Debt (>15%) |
|---|
| Gen Z (18โ27) | $18,400 | Student loans, credit cards | 44% |
| Millennials (28โ43) | $62,300 | Student loans, auto, credit cards | 51% |
| Gen X (44โ59) | $48,700 | Auto loans, credit cards, HELOC | 38% |
| Boomers (60โ75) | $22,100 | Credit cards, auto loans | 29% |
51%
of Millennial respondents carry at least one account with an interest rate above 15%
Millennials entered the workforce during the 2008 recession and carry the highest combined student loan and consumer debt burden of any living generation.
$157K
average additional wealth built by respondents who eliminated high-interest debt within 24 months vs those who carried it 5+ years
Based on projection modeling from our Debt-Free Countdown tool โ the wealth gap from high-interest debt compounds dramatically over time.
Finding #4
Financial DNA: The Most Common Money Personalities
Respondents who completed our Financial DNA Test revealed their dominant money personality type. The distribution shows that "Wealth Builder" traits โ the personality most associated with long-term financial success โ are present as a dominant trait in only 28% of respondents.
Dominant Financial DNA Trait โ % of All Respondents
Critically, Wealth Builders scored an average of 641 on the Financial Health Score โ 154 points higher than the overall average of 487. Risk Avoiders scored 521. Money Avoiders averaged just 398. The correlation between money personality and financial health is among the strongest findings in this report.
Finding #5
What Separates High Scorers From Everyone Else
We analyzed the habits and behaviors of respondents who scored 700+ on the Financial Health Score (the top 14% of respondents) against those who scored below 400. Five behaviors showed the strongest separation between these groups.
% of High Scorers (700+) vs Low Scorers (<400) Reporting Each Habit
Has written financial goals
Maxes employer 401k match
The single strongest predictor of financial health isn't income โ it's automation. 89% of our top scorers automate their savings. Only 12% of low scorers do.
DigitalWealthSource 2025 Money Report
Finding #6
Geographic Financial Health Varies Wildly
Respondents from all 50 states completed the Financial Health Score. Average scores varied by more than 160 points between the highest and lowest-scoring states โ a gap that reflects differences in cost of living, median income, educational access, and financial literacy resources.
Top 5
Highest average Financial Health Scores by region
Pacific Northwest, Upper Midwest, New England, Mountain West, and Mid-Atlantic regions consistently score highest โ driven by higher median incomes, lower cost-of-living ratios, and stronger financial literacy education.
163 pts
Point gap between highest and lowest-scoring states on average Financial Health Score
This gap represents years of wealth-building potential lost to geography, access, and education inequality โ the core reason free, accessible financial education matters.
The geographic variation in our data points to a fundamental problem: financial literacy resources are not equally distributed. High-cost metro areas with well-educated populations tend to score higher โ not because they are inherently better with money, but because they have more access to financial education and guidance.
๐ Citation & Methodology
Data sourced from anonymized, aggregated responses from DigitalWealthSource platform users who completed the Financial Health Score (n=10,247), Financial DNA Test (n=7,831), and associated financial tools between JanuaryโMarch 2025. All data is self-reported and anonymized. No personally identifiable information is collected or used. Results represent users of DigitalWealthSource and may not be nationally representative. For press inquiries and data requests, contact us at
our contact page. Full methodology available in our
Methodology document.
Citation format: DigitalWealthSource. (2025).
The 2025 Money Report: How America Really Manages Money. DigitalWealthSource.com. Retrieved from https://www.digitalwealthsource.com/2025-money-report
Where Do You Stand?
Get your personal Financial Health Score and see how you compare to the 10,000+ people in this report. Free, 5 minutes, no email required.