Atlas x Pave Consumer Health Index: Paychecks Hold Steady as Household Financial Cushions Erode to Two-Year Low
Income held for a sixth straight quarter, but households now sit on their thinnest buffer in two years
American households are earning steadily but running on their thinnest cushion in two years, according to Q2 2026 findings from the Atlas x Pave Consumer Health Index released today. Built on behavior from more than 10 million accounts, incomes held firm for a sixth straight quarter even as gas prices and rising credit use thinned the buffer beneath them, hardest for the lowest cash-flow households.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260722634809/en/ Credit is working harder at the bottom: the share of users above 90% utilization rose 17.9 points among lower cash-flow households over the past year, versus 4.3 points among higher. Source: Atlas x Pave Consumer Health Index, Q2 2026.
The Index functions as an early read on consumer health: it tracks real-time transactions across more than 10 million accounts, surfacing shifts in spending, income, and credit behavior weeks before they reach official statistics.
