Today, 42% of U.S. adults say they don’t use cash for any purchases in a typical week. This is up from 24% in 2015.
Fewer – 12% – say they use cash to pay for all or almost all of their purchases in a typical week. Another 46% say they use cash sometimes, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from May 26 to June 1, 2026.
| All or almost all | Some | None | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 12 | 46 | 42 |
| 2022 | 14 | 44 | 41 |
| 2018 | 18 | 52 | 29 |
| 2015 | 24 | 51 | 24 |
Higher-income Americans continue to be far more likely than those with lower incomes to go cashless. Today, 58% of those in households earning $100,000 or more a year say they make none of their purchases with cash in a typical week. This is higher than the 43% of those in households earning $50,000 to $99,999 who say the same. This continues to drop steadily by income, to 24% of those making less than $30,000.
| Amount | Year | <$30K | $30K-$49,999 | $50K-$99,999 | $100K+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All or almost all | 2026 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 4 |
| All or almost all | 2022 | 30 | 20 | 8 | 4 |
| All or almost all | 2018 | 31 | 20 | 11 | 6 |
| All or almost all | 2015 | 38 | 24 | 14 | 8 |
| None | 2026 | 24 | 33 | 43 | 58 |
| None | 2022 | 24 | 35 | 45 | 59 |
| None | 2018 | 18 | 27 | 35 | 43 |
| None | 2015 | 15 | 24 | 30 | 36 |
On the other hand, those in lower-income households are more likely than other groups to rely on cash. About a quarter of those who make less than $30,000 annually use it for all or almost all purchases.
Younger adults stand out for never using cash. About half of adults under 30 (51%) say they don’t use cash for any of their purchases in a typical week. This drops to 46% of those 30 to 49 years old and further to 37% of those 50 to 64. Those 65 and older are the least likely to say they never use cash.
| Ages 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 29 | 28 | 20 | 19 |
| 2018 | 34 | 35 | 22 | 25 |
| 2022 | 46 | 49 | 34 | 33 |
| 2026 | 51 | 46 | 37 | 33 |
How common is carrying cash today?
Even as Americans overall move toward cashless payments, nearly half of Americans (46%) say they carry cash on them always or most of the time.
About one-in-five U.S. adults say they have cash on them sometimes. And 32% say they rarely or never do.
| Group | Always/Most of the time | Sometimes | Rarely/Never | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults | All | 46 | 22 | 32 |
| Ages 18-29 | Ages | 29 | 26 | 45 |
| 30-49 | Ages | 35 | 25 | 40 |
| 50-64 | Ages | 53 | 20 | 27 |
| 65+ | Ages | 69 | 16 | 14 |
But having cash on hand doesn’t always mean it’s being used. Indeed, 26% of Americans who carry cash always or most of the time say they don’t use it for any of their typical purchases.
- Older adults are far more likely to say they frequently have cash on them. While a large majority of those 65 and older say this, that drops to about three-in-ten adults under 30.
- The shares who often carry cash are fairly similar across household incomes, even though lower-income Americans are more likely to use it. Half of Americans in households that make $100,000 or more say they carry cash all or most of the time. For those in households who earn less, this figure is between 41% and 44%.
Note: Here are the questions we used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.
