Some 25.6m people -- more than 10% of all adults -- relied on loans from those close to them to meet spending needs, according to the Census Bureau’s latest Household Pulse survey of finances, which covered the period from March 30 to April 11. That figure was up from 19.1m a year earlier, when the question was first asked.
The Census Bureau has been carrying out regular Household Pulse surveys since May 2020, as it seeks to measure the economic and social effects of the pandemic. A growing number of federal agencies have been collaborating with the Bureau to broaden the data set.