The low wage economy

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“Close to two-thirds of the U.S. population — about 157 million adults — currently live paycheck to paycheck, making it the main financial lifestyle in the United States.” That’s from a June report by the lending marketplace LendingClub in cooperation with PYMNTS.com, a payments data company. One-third of people earning $250,000 a year or more are living paycheck to paycheck, says the study, which was based on a survey and government data...

MagnifyMoney, a unit of LendingTree, conducted a survey this year that found “50 percent of working Americans say they live paycheck to paycheck, meaning they have no money left after all expenses are paid.”

What Does It Really Mean to Live ‘Paycheck to Paycheck’?

• These figures are likely to be an overestimation, but the trend seems to be up, which isn't surprising as the cost of medical insurance, education and housing have been rising much faster than wages or inflation the past decades.