Most Black Americans consider themselves at least somewhat successful (66%). When asked to define what success means to them personally, 82% of Black adults point to the ability to provide for their family.

However, success isn’t exclusively related to financial achievements, a new Pew Research Center survey finds. Majorities of Black adults also cite quality-of-life measures such as personal happiness (80%), having enough time to do the things they want to do (65%) and having a job or career they enjoy (56%). A related analysis finds that most Black adults say they are at least somewhat happy and have enough time to do the things they want to do at least sometimes.

Roughly half of Black adults also say owning their own home (52%) and using their talents and resources to help others (50%) are essential to their personal definition of success.

Yet many of the measures Black adults use to define success are also major sources of pressure in their lives.

Among the pressures Black adults experience, the top two cited relate to personal finances: 71% say they face a great deal or fair amount of pressure to have enough money to do the things they want to do, and 68% say the same about being able to provide for their family.

Financial pressures are widespread among Black adults even when accounting for differences in family income.¹

• 73% of Black adults with lower family incomes, 70% of those with middle incomes and 69% with upper incomes say they face a great deal or fair amount of pressure to have enough money to do the things they want to do.
• 70% of Black adults with lower incomes, 68% with middle incomes and 64% with upper incomes say the same about pressures to provide for their family.
• 53% of Black adults with lower incomes, 48% with middle incomes and 50% with upper incomes say they feel that pressure to own their own home.

Although many Black adults experience similar levels of financial pressure, particular subgroups experience more financial insecurity than others. For example, Black adults with lower family incomes are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to rate their personal financial situation negatively (78% vs. 57% and 29%, respectively).

Similarly, Black adults with lower incomes are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to experience economic worries on a daily or near daily basis (64% vs. 49% and 31%). They are also more likely to say that if they lost their main source of income, they could not cover three months’ worth of expenses using several financial means we asked about (41% vs. 18% and 7%).

Black Americans’ assessment of their financial situation today

While national economic conditions improved some in 2023, inflation slowed and unemployment rates hovered near record lows, Black Americans are downbeat about their financial situation. Overall, 64% of Black adults rate their personal financial situation negatively, or in only fair or poor shape.

The new survey also finds many Black adults are not financially prepared for the sudden loss of their main source of income. We asked if they could use four different resources to cover expenses for three months if they lost their income: personal savings, credit cards, loans from family or friends, or the value of their assets.

• 45% say they could cover their expenses for three months with personal savings.
• 37% say they could borrow from family or friends.
• 28% say they would not be able to use any of the four resources we asked about to cover three months’ expenses.

Additionally, a majority of Black adults experience at least one of eight financial worries on a daily or near daily basis.

• Roughly three-in-ten worry about paying their bills (31%), the amount of debt they have (29%), and being able to save enough for their retirement (28%) on a daily or near daily basis.
• 24% worry about being able to buy enough food for themselves and their family every day or almost every day.
• 54% worry about at least one economic concern either every day or almost every day, such as paying bills, the amount of debt they hold, saving for retirement, and being able to buy enough food for their families.

In 2022, Black households had the lowest median income out of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, at $52,860, according to the Census Bureau. And while Black household wealth rose during the pandemic, it remains significantly lower than other racial or ethnic groups’. Notably, 24% of all single-race, non-Hispanic Black households had no or negative wealth in December 2021, despite gains during the pandemic.

Earlier Pew Research Center findings show that Black Americans typically experience higher levels of economic insecurity than other Americans, are increasingly dissatisfied with capitalism, and believe the economic system in the U.S. does not treat Black people fairly. Nonetheless, Black adults are optimistic about their financial futures.

How Black Americans define financial success

No matter their financial situation, Black Americans define financial success in many ways. Among Black adults:

• Roughly two-thirds say being debt-free (67%) and having enough money to do the things they want to do (65%) are essential to their definition of financial success.
• About half (49%) say the same about owning a home.
• Fewer than half say being able to pass down financial assets to future generations (44%), having multiple streams of income (43%), being able to retire early (35%), or owning a business (22%) are essential to their definition of financial success.

For this report, we surveyed 4,736 Black adults in the U.S. from Sept. 12 to 24, 2023, in English and Spanish, to find out how they view personal and financial success in America, and to learn about the economic challenges they experience.

The following chapters take a closer look at:

How Black Americans view personal success

How Black Americans view financial success and the financial challenges they experience

Most Black adults describe themselves as at least somewhat successful (66%) and view personal success in terms of their ability to provide for their families (82%). Still, Black Americans experience pressure to live up to these goals, with majorities saying they feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to have enough money (71%) and be able to provide for their families (68%).

Assessing personal success

Roughly one-quarter of Black adults (26%) personally consider themselves extremely or very successful, 40% say they are somewhat successful, and one-third say they are a little or not at all successful.

By age

Black adults ages 50 and older are more likely than those under 50 to consider themselves successful. Conversely, Black adults ages 18 to 29 are more likely than older Black adults to consider themselves only a little or not at all successful.

By education

Black adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher are more likely than Black adults with some college or with a high school diploma or less education to consider themselves extremely or very successful. And those with a high school education or less are more likely than those with higher levels of education to consider themselves a little or not at all successful.

By income

The higher their income level, the more likely Black adults are to consider themselves extremely or very successful. Black adults with upper family incomes are more likely than those with middle or lower incomes to say they are extremely or very successful.

Defining personal success

About eight-in-ten Black adults say that being able to provide for their family (82%) and being happy (80%) are essential to their personal definition of success. Smaller majorities say the same about having enough time to do things they want to do (65%) and having a job or career they enjoy (56%).

Roughly half of Black Americans or fewer say owning their own home (52%), using their talents and resources to help others (50%), making their family or community proud (37%) and being married (23%) are important to their personal definition of success.

By age

Black adults ages 50 and older are less likely than younger Black adults to say having enough time to do things they want to do, having a job or career they enjoy, making their family or community proud and being married are essential to their personal definition of success.

By education

Black adults with at least a bachelor’s degree are more likely than those with less education to say most of these measures are essential to their personal definition of success. Those with a high school diploma or less education are less likely than other Black adults to say any of these goals are essential in defining success.

Similar shares of Black adults with at least a bachelor’s degree and those with less education say owning their own home, making their family or community proud, or being married are essential to their personal definition of success.

By nativity

Black immigrants are more likely than Black adults born in the U.S. to say being able to provide for their family, being happy, having enough time to do things they want to do, owning their home and being married are essential to their personal definition of success.

By ethnicity

Black non-Hispanic adults are more likely than Black multiracial non-Hispanic or Black Hispanic adults to say owning their own home is essential to their personal definition of success. They are also more likely than Black Hispanic adults to say being able to provide for their family and being happy are essential to how they define success.

Pressure to be successful

When it comes to these traditional measures of success, Black Americans feel pressures to accomplish certain things for themselves and for their community. Similar shares say they feel a great deal or a fair amount of pressure to have enough money to do the things they want to do (71%) and be able to provide for their family (68%).

Slightly smaller shares say the same about being happy (62%), having a job or career they enjoy (58%), owning their own home (50%), using their talents and resources to help others (48%), and making their family or community proud (43%).

More than half of Black adults who are currently married (55%) say they feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to stay married, while 20% of unmarried Black adults feel at least a fair amount of pressure to get married.

By gender

Black women are more likely than Black men to say they feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to have enough money to do the things they want to do, be happy, have a job or career they enjoy, use their talents and resources to help others, and make their family or community proud.

By age

Black adults under 50 are more likely than older Black adults to feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to have enough money, have a job or career they enjoy, own their own home, use their talents and resources to help others, make their family or community proud, and – depending on their marital status – stay or get married.

By income

Black adults with lower levels of family income are more likely than those with higher levels of income to say they feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to be happy, use their talents and resources to help others, and to make their family or community proud. They are also more likely than those with upper incomes to say they feel at least a fair amount of pressure to be able to provide for their family. And Black adults with lower and middle incomes are both more likely than those with upper incomes to feel pressure to have a job or career they enjoy.

Notably, Black adults with upper incomes are about as likely as other Black adults to feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to have enough money to do the things they want to do.

By nativity

Black immigrants are more likely than Black adults born in the U.S. to feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to have a job or career they enjoy and to own their own home.

Strategies for becoming successful

Thinking more broadly about success, majorities of Black adults say having self-confidence (79%) and having financial stability (75%) are essential to helping a person achieve success.

Far fewer see personal relationships having a significant role in success. Smaller shares say having supportive family members (54%), having connections to people who can help open doors on their behalf (41%) or having mentors who can provide advice and guidance (39%) are essential in helping a person achieve success. Two-in-ten Black adults say the same about having a college degree.

By gender

Black women are more likely than Black men to say having financial stability, supportive family members, mentors and a college degree are essential to helping a person achieve success.

By age

Black adults ages 18 to 29 are more likely than other Black adults to say having a college degree is essential to helping a person achieve success. Overall, younger Black adults are more likely than older Black adults to say financial stability, connections to people who can open doors on their behalf, and having a college degree are essential. Black adults 50 and older are more likely than younger Black adults to say having supportive family members is essential.

Black adults are clear on their financial goals and priorities, with majorities saying being debt-free (67%) and having enough money to do the things they want to do (65%) are essential to their personal definition of financial success.

Defining financial success

Majorities of Black adults say being debt-free (67%) and having enough money to do the things they want to do (65%) are essential to their personal definitions of financial success.

Roughly half say the same about owning a home (49%), while about four-in-ten say this about being able to pass down financial assets (44%) and having multiple streams of income (43%). Smaller shares say being able to retire early (35%) or owning a business (22%) are essential in defining financial success.

By gender

Black women are more likely than Black men to say being debt-free, being able to pass down financial assets and being able to retire early are essential to their personal definition of financial success.

By age

Overall, Black adults ages 18 to 29 are more likely than older Black adults to say being debt-free and owning a business are essential to their personal definition of success. Meanwhile, Black adults under 50 are more likely than older Black adults to say nearly all of these measures are essential to their definition of financial success. Black adults 65 and older are less likely than younger Black adults to say any of these measures are essential to financial success.   

By income

Black adults with lower levels of family income are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to say being debt-free and owning a business are essential to their personal definition of financial success. Black adults with middle and upper incomes are more likely than those with lower incomes to cite having enough money to do things they want to do as an essential measure of financial success.

By nativity

Black immigrants are more likely than Black adults born in the U.S. to say being debt-free, having enough money to do the things they want to do, being able to pass down financial assets, having multiple streams of income and owning a business are essential to their personal definition of financial success.  

Financial challenges Black Americans experience

Most Black adults rate their personal financial situation negatively (64%). More than half experience at least one economic worry every day or almost every day (55%), and roughly three-in-ten (28%) say they wouldn’t be able to cover their expenses for three months if they lost their main source of income.

Personal financial situation

Majorities of Black adults (64%) rate their personal financial situation as only fair or in poor shape, while fewer than four-in-ten (35%) say their financial situation is excellent or in good shape.

By age

Black adults under 50 are more likely than those 50 and older to rate their financial situation negatively.

By education

Black adults with a high school diploma or less education and those with some college education are more likely than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher to rate their personal financial situation negatively.

By income

Black adults with lower levels of income are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to rate their financial situation negatively. About one-third of Black adults with upper incomes rate their personal financial situation negatively.

Economic worries

Nearly three-in-ten Black adults say they worry daily or almost daily about paying their bills (31%), the amount of debt they have (29%) and being able to save enough for their retirement (28%). Roughly one-quarter say the same about being able to buy enough food for themselves and their family (24%) or paying their rent or mortgage (23%). And 22% say they worry daily or almost daily about the cost of health care for themselves and their family.

Among employed Black adults, 18% worry about taking a cut in pay due to reduced hours or demand for their work and 15% worry about losing their job.

More than half of Black adults (54%) experience at least one of these economic worries on a daily or nearly daily basis.

By gender

Black women are more likely than Black men to experience daily or near daily worries about paying their bills, the amount of debt they have, saving for retirement, taking a cut in pay due to reduced hours or demand for their work, and losing their job.

By age

Black adults under 65 are more likely than those 65 and older to experience each of these economic worries on a daily or almost daily basis.

By education

Black adults with a high school diploma or less education and those with some college experience are more likely than those with at least a bachelor’s degree to experience nearly all of these economic worries on a daily or almost daily basis.

By income

Black adults with lower levels of income and those with middle incomes are more likely than those with upper incomes to experience each of these economic worries either every day or almost every day.

By ethnicity

Black Hispanic adults are more likely than Black, non-Hispanic and multiracial Black adults to experience daily or near daily worries about paying their rent or mortgage and losing their job. They are also more likely than non-Hispanic Black adults to worry every day or almost every day about paying their bills, being able to save enough for retirement, and being able to buy enough food for themselves and their family. 

Financial preparedness

Seven-in-ten Black adults are financially prepared to cover their expenses for three months if they were to lose their main source of income, either by using personal savings, using credit cards, borrowing money from family or friends, or selling assets. Roughly three-in-ten (28%) say they could not rely on any of these resources to cover three months of expenses.

By gender

Black men are more likely than Black women to say they could cover their expenses for three months by using personal savings and selling assets.

By age

Black adults under 50 are more likely than those 50 and older to be able to cover their expenses by borrowing money from family or friends. Meanwhile, Black adults 50 and older are more likely than younger Black adults to be able to cover their expenses by using credit cards or personal savings and selling assets.

By education

Black adults with at least a bachelor’s degree are more likely than those with less education to be able to cover their expenses for three months by using credit cards or personal savings and selling assets.

By income

Black adults with upper levels of income are more likely than those with lower or middle incomes to be able to cover their expenses for three months by using personal savings, using credit cards or selling assets. Similar shares of Black adults with lower, middle and upper incomes say they could borrow money from family or friends.

By nativity

Black immigrants are more likely than Black adults born in the U.S. to be able to cover their expenses for three months in the event of job loss by using credit cards and personal savings.

This report was written by Khadijah Edwards, research associate.

Editorial guidance was provided by Mark Hugo Lopez, director, race and ethnicity research; Sahana Mukherjee, associate director, race and ethnicity research; Kiana Cox, senior researcher, race and ethnicity research; Molly Rohal, associate director, communications; and Kelly Browning, manager, user experience.

Methodological guidance was provided by Courtney Kennedy, vice president, methods and data and innovation, and Dorene Asare-Marfo, panel manager. Guidance on the communications strategy and outreach was provided by Tanya Arditi, communications manager.

The report was number-checked by Mohamad Moslimani, research assistant. Janakee Chavda, assistant digital producer, produced the report. David Kent, senior copy editor, copy edited the report. Charts were designed by Edwards.

Find related reports online at our topic page on Black Americans.

The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Overview

The American Trends Panel (ATP), created by Pew Research Center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. Panelists participate via self-administered web surveys. Panelists who do not have internet access at home are provided with a tablet and wireless internet connection. Interviews are conducted in both English and Spanish. The panel is being managed by Ipsos.

Data in this report is drawn from ATP Wave 134, conducted from Sept. 12 to Sept. 24, 2023, A total of 7,470 panelists responded out of 10,219 who were sampled, for a response rate of 74% (AAPOR RR3). This includes 4,489 respondents from the ATP and an oversample of 2,981 Black Americans from Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel. The cumulative response rate accounting for nonresponse to the recruitment surveys and attrition is 2%. The break-off rate among panelists who logged on to the survey and completed at least one item is 3%. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 7,470 respondents is plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

Panel recruitment

The ATP was created in 2014, with the first cohort of panelists invited to join the panel at the end of a large, national, landline and cellphone random-digit-dial survey that was conducted in both English and Spanish. Two additional recruitments were conducted using the same method in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Across these three surveys, a total of 19,718 adults were invited to join the ATP, of whom 9,942 (50%) agreed to participate.

In August 2018, the ATP switched from telephone to address-based sampling (ABS) recruitment. A study cover letter and a pre-incentive are mailed to a stratified, random sample of households selected from the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File. This Postal Service file has been estimated to cover as much as 98% of the population, although some studies suggest that the coverage could be in the low 90% range.² Within each sampled household, the adult with the next birthday is asked to participate. Other details of the ABS recruitment protocol have changed over time but are available upon request.³

We have recruited a national sample of U.S. adults to the ATP approximately once per year since 2014. In some years, the recruitment has included additional effort (known as an “oversample”) to boost sample size with underrepresented groups. For example, Hispanic adults, Black adults, and Asian adults were oversampled in 2019, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Across the six address-based recruitments, a total of 23,862 adults were invited to join the ATP, of whom 20,917 agreed to join the panel and completed an initial profile survey. Of the 30,859 individuals who have ever joined the ATP, 11,944 remained active panelists and continued to receive survey invitations at the time this survey was conducted.

The American Trends Panel never uses breakout routers or chains that direct respondents to additional surveys.

Sample design

The overall target population for this survey was noninstitutionalized persons ages 18 and older living in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii. It featured a stratified random sample from the ATP in which Black adults were selected with certainty. The remaining panelists were sampled at rates designed to ensure that the share of respondents in each stratum is proportional to its share of the U.S. adult population to the greatest extent possible. Respondent weights are adjusted to account for differential probabilities of selection as described in the Weighting section below.

The ATP was supplemented with an oversample from the KnowledgePanel in which all panelists who had previously identified as Black or African American (including those who identify as Hispanic or Black in combination with another race) were selected with certainty.

Questionnaire development and testing

The questionnaire was developed by Pew Research Center in consultation with Ipsos. The web program was rigorously tested on both PC and mobile devices by the Ipsos project management team and Pew Research Center researchers. The Ipsos project management team also populated test data that was analyzed in SPSS to ensure the logic and randomizations were working as intended before launching the survey.

Incentives

All respondents were offered a post-paid incentive for their participation. Respondents could choose to receive the post-paid incentive in the form of a check or a gift code to Amazon.com or could choose to decline the incentive. Incentive amounts ranged from $5 to $20 depending on whether the respondent belongs to a part of the population that is harder or easier to reach. Differential incentive amounts were designed to increase panel survey participation among groups that traditionally have low survey response propensities.

Data collection protocol

The data collection field period for this survey was Sept. 12 to Sept. 24, 2023. Postcard notifications were mailed to all ATP panelists with a known residential address on Sept. 11. 

Invitations were sent out in two separate launches: soft launch and full launch. Eighty ATP panelists and 484 KnowledgePanel panelists were included in the soft launch, which began with an initial invitation sent on Sept. 12, 2023. The ATP panelists chosen for the initial soft launch were known responders who had completed previous ATP surveys within one day of receiving their invitation. All remaining English- and Spanish-speaking sampled panelists were included in the full launch and were sent an invitation on Sept. 13.

All panelists with an email address received an email invitation and up to four email reminders if they did not respond to the survey. All ATP panelists who consented to SMS messages received an SMS invitation and up to four SMS reminders.

Data quality checks

To ensure high-quality data, the Center’s researchers performed data quality checks to identify any respondents showing clear patterns of satisficing. This includes checking for very high rates of leaving questions blank, as well as always selecting the first or last answer presented. As a result of this checking, six ATP and 11 KnowledgePanel respondents were removed from the survey dataset prior to weighting and analysis.

Weighting

The data is weighted in a multistep process that accounts for multiple stages of sampling and nonresponse that occur at different points in the survey process. First, each panelist begins with a base weight that reflects their probability of selection for their initial recruitment survey. That weight is then adjusted to account for nonresponse to the recruitment surveys and panel attrition. Next, respondents are divided into three groups, which are ATP Black respondents, ATP non-Black respondents, and KnowledgePanel Black respondents. The base weights for each group are separately scaled to be proportional to their effective sample size before being recombined and calibrated so that the proportion of Black (alone or in combination) respondents matches the American Community Survey benchmark.

This weight is further calibrated again to align with the population benchmarks identified in the accompanying table and trimmed at the 1st and 99th percentiles separately for Black and non-Black respondents to reduce the loss in precision stemming from variance in the weights. Sampling errors and tests of statistical significance take into account the effect of weighting.

The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey.

Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

Dispositions and response rates

How family income tiers are calculated

Family income data reported in this study is adjusted for household size and cost-of-living differences by geography. Panelists then are assigned to income tiers that are based on the median adjusted family income of all American Trends Panel members. The process uses the following steps:

1. First, panelists are assigned to the midpoint of the income range they selected in a family income question that was measured on either the most recent annual profile survey or, for newly recruited panelists, their recruitment survey. This provides an approximate income value that can be used in calculations for the adjustment.
2. Next, these income values are adjusted for the cost of living in the geographic area where the panelist lives. This is calculated using price indexes published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. These indexes, known as Regional Price Parities (RPP), compare the prices of goods and services across all U.S. metropolitan statistical areas as well as non-metro areas with the national average prices for the same goods and services. The most recent available data at the time of the annual profile survey is from 2021. Those who fall outside of metropolitan statistical areas are assigned the overall RPP for their state’s non-metropolitan area.
3. Family incomes are further adjusted for the number of people in a household using the methodology from Pew Research Center’s previous work on the American middle class. This is done because a four-person household with an income of say, $50,000, faces a tighter budget constraint than a two-person household with the same income.
4. Panelists are then assigned an income tier. “Middle-income” adults are in families with adjusted family incomes that are between two-thirds and double the median adjusted family income for the full ATP at the time of the most recent annual profile survey. The median adjusted family income for the panel is roughly $71,700. Using this median income, the middle-income range is about $47,800 to $143,400. Lower-income families have adjusted incomes less than $47,800 and upper-income families have adjusted incomes greater than $143,400 (all figures expressed in 2022 dollars and scaled to a household size of three). If a panelist did not provide their income and/or their household size, they are assigned “no answer” in the income tier variable.

Two examples of how a given area’s cost-of-living adjustment was calculated are as follows: The Anniston-Oxford metropolitan area in Alabama is a relatively inexpensive area, with a price level that is 16.2% less than the national average. The San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area in California is one of the most expensive areas, with a price level that is 19.8% higher than the national average. Income in the sample is adjusted to make up for this difference. As a result, a family with an income of $41,900 in the Anniston-Oxford area is as well off financially as a family of the same size with an income of $59,900 in San Francisco. 

The respondents from the KnowledgePanel oversample answered the same family income and household size questions, and their incomes were adjusted using the procedures detailed above. They were then assigned an income tier based on the median adjusted family income for the full ATP at the time of the most recent annual profile survey.

© Pew Research Center, 2023