Natural disasters affected finances of 1 in 5 US adults in 2023: Fed

The greatest changes were recorded in the west of the country, where the percentage of people who reported having suffered a financial impact from natural disasters almost doubled.

In the South, which includes hurricane-prone states like Florida, nearly a quarter of all respondents said they had been economically affected by natural disasters, while only 13% did so in the Northeast.

In its report, the Federal Reserve noted that some of the people most at risk of natural disasters were also least likely to have homeowners insurance.

“Homeowners with lower incomes, those living in the South, and those who have already been financially affected by a natural disaster were less likely to have home insurance,” the report found.

The number of American adults doing well financially remained relatively unchanged at 72% in 2023, the Fed noted.

But the figure hides an important change: among parents living with children under 18 years of age, only 64% stated that their economic situation was at least good, five percentage points less than in 2022.

The report also highlighted that childcare accounts for a “substantial portion of the family budget for parents who use paid childcare,” typically costing 50% to 70% of what parents spend each month on child care. living place.

Inflation remained Americans’ top financial concern in 2023, the Fed said, despite a sharp moderation in price growth since 2022, when it hit a multi-decade high.

More than a third of Americans reported inflation as a financial challenge, with many respondents citing the cost of groceries as a concern.