Financial Wellbeing at Age 22: Evidence from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study
The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) has been following a large and diverse sample of children born in 20 large US cities since their births in 1998 to 2000. The children—now young adults—were re-interviewed between October 2020 and January 2024, at age 22, responding to questions about their income, earnings, living arrangements, employment, education, family, financial support, health, identity, and more. As youth in the FFCWS cohort transition into young adulthood, these interviews provide an opportunity to understand how today’s young adults are faring.
In this brief, we focus on the financial wellbeing of young adults, looking at their incomes and their experiences of material hardship. All results are weighted so the results are representative of young adults born in large cities in the United States.
This brief is the fourth in a series on young adults’ wellbeing at age 22, which also covers education, employment, disconnection; living arrangements; poverty; and health and mental health.
Key Findings
A significant share of young adults at age 22 face economic insecurity, with close to one-third experiencing poverty and over 40% struggling to meet basic needs like food, rent, and bill payments. Over one-quarter experience two or more types of hardship and a similar proportion need to borrow money to pay bills.
Young adults living with dependent children are much more likely to live in poverty and experience material hardship, highlighting the unique economic pressures faced by young parents—particularly young mothers.
Black, Hispanic, and White young women with dependent children experience hardship in different ways—Black young women more often face housing instability, Hispanic young women report the highest level of unmet medical needs due to cost, and White young women are more likely to face food-related hardship.
Some young adults who have incomes above poverty still experience material hardship. This finding underscores the importance of looking beyond poverty to assess financial wellbeing
The study is a joint effort by Princeton University’s Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child and Family Wellbeing and the Columbia Population Research Center.
The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a long-running collaborative birth cohort study, which has followed a large and diverse sample of children since their births in 1998 to 2000. The children were born in 20 large cities but now reside all over the United States. When weighted, the study provides data that is nationally representative of young adults born in large cities and as such is the only nationally representative sample of a contemporary cohort of young adults followed longitudinally since birth.
Suggested Citation:
Jung, Hye-Min, Megan Curran, and Jane Waldfogel. 2025. Financial wellbeing at age 22: Evidence from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, Princeton, NJ: The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
Published on May 5, 2025