A substantial share of Americans report living paycheck to paycheck, though estimates vary widely depending on how the term is defined and which survey you look at. Sanders' 60% figure is plausible—some surveys, like LendingClub's, regularly find around that number. But other surveys produce very different results, ranging from as low as one-quarter to as high as two-thirds of Americans. So while 60% is in the ballpark of what some major surveys find, it's not the consensus across all measurement methods. The underlying concern is real: wage growth for lower-income households has lagged cost increases since early 2025, and the gap between earnings and necessary spending is widening for the majority of working Americans.