Financial Fragility Index: Q2 2026.
Household fragility rose for a third straight quarter, driven by fixed-cost creep and shrinking liquid savings.
The GrowthPath Financial Fragility Index™ rose to 61 in Q2 2026, up 3.2 points from Q1. This marks the third consecutive quarterly increase and the highest reading since we began publishing the index in Q3 2025.
The primary drivers were a continued increase in fixed costs as a share of household income (now 68% for the median household, up from 64% a year ago) and a decline in liquid savings relative to monthly expenses.
The index is a composite of five equally weighted factors: liquid savings runway, fixed-cost ratio, income concentration, debt service coverage, and insurance adequacy. A reading above 55 indicates elevated fragility; above 70 indicates high fragility.
The data suggests that the current environment — where real wages are growing but fixed costs are growing faster — is quietly eroding household resilience. The professionals most exposed are those in the $75,000–$125,000 income band, where lifestyle expectations have outpaced savings discipline.