Household financial stress
Household financial stress reflects how close households are to the edge. It blends income, poverty exposure, housing cost burden, and safety-net reliance to show where families have less cushion for unexpected bills.
Why it matters
Higher stress means more households are cost-burdened and rely on SNAP or other supports, leaving less room for savings.
Common questions
- Is median household income keeping up with local costs?
- How many households live under 200% of the poverty line?
- How common is rent or mortgage burden in this area?
- What share of households rely on SNAP benefits?
Example signals
- Median household income
- Households under 200% poverty
- Rent-burdened households (30%+)
- Mortgage-burdened households (30%+)
- Households receiving SNAP
- Income trend (YoY)
How this risk is used
This risk contributes to Financial Risk Score v1 as a location-level signal. Scores remain relative, explainable, and comparable across geographies.
FinancialRiskIQ does not provide personal financial advice or predictions.
Key sources
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year
FAQs
What does a higher household financial stress score mean?
It signals more households facing cost burdens, lower incomes, and higher poverty exposure relative to other places.
Why use 200% of the poverty line?
It captures near-poor households that are still financially fragile but fall above the official poverty threshold.
How current is the data?
We use the most recent ACS 5-year release, which updates annually and smooths year-to-year volatility.
Related risks
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Debt and credit pressure tracks how leveraged households are and how often credit stress shows up. Higher subprime share, delinquency, and revolving utilization indicate tighter credit access and greater reliance on borrowing.
Cost of living exposure
Cost of living exposure focuses on housing costs relative to income. Rising rents, higher monthly housing costs, and elevated rent-to-income ratios can squeeze budgets even when incomes rise.
Legal and collection risk
Legal and collection risk uses civil court filings per capita and caseload trends to capture the legal environment. Higher civil filing rates can signal more collection activity and a more intense enforcement climate.