Unbanked and Underbanked Findings

The 2017 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

2017 Downloads

Key National Statistics

All Households

7.0%Unbanked
19.9%Underbanked
26.9%Total
20152017Change
Unbanked7.7%7.0%-0.7% (S)
Underbanked20.0%19.9%-0.1% (NS)

NS: Not statistically significant change

S: Statistically significant change

Results may not be shown for all groups. Data is suppressed when there are insufficient observations to make a precise estimate.

Banking Status of U.S. Households

In 2017, 6.5 percent of U.S. households were unbanked, meaning that no one in the household had a checking or savings account. An additional 18.7 percent of U.S. households were underbanked in 2017, meaning that the household had an account at an insured institution but also obtained financial products or services outside of the banking system.

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Unbanked Rates by Year

The unbanked rate in 2017 declined to the lowest level since the survey began in 2009. Since the survey was last administered in 2015, the unbanked rate has fallen by 0.5 percentage points.

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Unbanked Rates for Selected Groups by Year

Unbanked rates in 2017 were lower than or similar to unbanked rates in recent years for most segments of the population. Recent declines in unbanked rates have been particularly sharp for younger households, black households, and Hispanic households. Despite these improvements, unbanked rates for these groups remained substantially higher than the overall unbanked rate in 2017. Unbanked rates did not decline in recent years for a few segments of the population. For example, among working-age disabled households, unbanked rates were similar in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

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Reasons for Not Having a Bank Account, Unbanked Households

In 2017, more than half (52.7 percent) of unbanked households cited “Do not have enough money to keep in an account” as a reason for not having an account, the most commonly cited reason. This reason was also the most commonly cited main reason for not having an account (34.0 percent).

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