At a time when the US economy is being turned upside down by Donald Trump’s policies, polling platform Attest looked at how Americans view the cost of living and their future spending.
The data in this report comes from a nationally representative survey of 2,000 US consumers aged 18 to 67. The survey was conducted on the Attest platform in March 2025.
Social divide
The majority of American consumers have less than $200 per month in disposable income. The most represented group (all age categories combined) are those with less than $50 to spend once their fixed expenses have been paid.
“Overall, a third of Americans have a monthly disposable income of over $500, but if we consider consumers with a household income of over $100,000, this figure rises to 67%. Further underscoring the disparity between rich and poor, 16% of high-income earners say they have more than $3,000 left to spend each month,” Attest points out.
Beauty, a major expense for Americans
While so-called “discretionary” categories such as clothing or personal care are often the first to be sacrificed in times of economic tension, Americans continue to devote a significant portion of their budget to their appearance.
According to the study, 44% of consumers say they spend on cosmetics or haircuts every month.
“On average, consumers spend between $25 and $49 a month on their …
