The FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, or the “Household Survey” supports the FDIC’s commitment to expanding Americans' access to safe, secure, and affordable banking services. Conducted biennially since 2009 in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, the Household Survey collects information on bank account ownership and other financial products and services that households may use to meet their transaction and credit needs. The nationally representative survey is administered to approximately 30,000 U.S. households and yields findings that are representative for the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Resources: Household Survey Home | Custom Data Table Tool | Instructions
FAQs
- What does the custom data table tool offer that is not in the full report?
- How do I create a table?
- What is meant by "Analysis Variable"? What is the difference between a topic and a variable?
- What time periods or survey waves are included in the custom data table tool?
- Where can I find unbanked and underbanked rates?
- Where can I find variables on alternative financial services (AFS) use?
- How are the racial and ethnic categories defined?
- What is a “filter” and how do I use this function?
- How do I interpret the table output?
- What should I do if my table shows NA or "Not enough observations to provide estimates for this table. Please select a broader geography or remove additional filters."?
- What does the multiyear option of the tool do?
- Why do some of the 2013-2017 estimates I obtained through the custom data table tool differ from estimates that I had obtained prior to the release of the 2021 survey data for the same variable and year?
- How do I download the table I have generated?
- Can I download all the data instead of using this tool?
- How do I contact technical support?
What does the custom data table tool offer that is not in the full report?
The custom data tool allows you to create your own tables, including tables that are not included in the full report.
How do I create a table?
Start by selecting the year, geography, and analysis variable (first the topic and then the specific variable of interest). Clicking the Get Table button produces a basic table. Once the basic table has been created, you can further refine the table by clicking Change Row Variables or Add Filter located just above the table. You can download the table on the screen as a PDF or spreadsheet (CSV). For more details, see the Custom Data Table Tool Instructions.
What is meant by "Analysis Variable"? What is the difference between a topic and a variable?
The analysis variable is the household behavior or subject of interest, such as Unbanked, Most common way to access account, or Used prepaid card. For ease of use, the tool organizes variables by common subject matter or topic. For example, the topic, "Bank Account Ownership," includes variables such as Unbanked, Previously banked, and Main reason unbanked. Due to changes in the survey over time, not all variables are available in each year.
What time periods or survey waves are included in the custom data table tool?
The custom data table tool includes data from each year of the survey (biennially since 2009). “Multiyear” generates a table that consists of single-year estimates for multiple years, allowing you to compare certain variables across multiple surveys. The custom data table tool contains many, but not all, of the variables from each year.
Where can I find unbanked and underbanked rates?
For each survey year, unbanked and underbanked rates can be found under the topic, “Bank Account Ownership.” Underbanked rates are not available for the multiyear option because of changes in the definition of underbanked between the 2023 and previous surveys.
Where can I find variables on alternative financial services (AFS) use?
Variables on transaction AFS use (e.g., use of nonbank money orders in the past 12 months) can be found under the topic, “Nonbank Financial Transaction Services.” Variables on credit AFS use (e.g., use of payday loans in the past 12 months) can be found under the topic, “Credit.”
How are the racial and ethnic categories defined?
For the 2019 report, racial and ethnic categories were revised to be consistent with the 1997 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for the classification of race and ethnicity and with Current Population Survey (CPS) tabulations of race and ethnicity. All default tables (regardless of the year selected) display estimates for the racial and ethnic categories used in the 2019 and later reports (see Appendix 1 of the 2019 report for a description of these racial and ethnic categories). To generate a table (for any year) with the racial and ethnic categories used in the 2017 and previous reports (see Appendix I of the 2013 report for a description of these racial and ethnic categories), create a default table, click Change Row Variables or Add Filter located just above the table, click the Demographic button under Additional Row Variables, check the box in front of “Race/Ethnicity (previous definition),” and click the Update Table button.
In March 2024, OMB published new standards for the classification of race and ethnicity. As the new standards are implemented in the CPS, please note that future reports may use different racial and ethnic categories.
What is a “filter” and how do I use this function?
A filter allows you to further refine the data by limiting the view of the entire data to certain aspects of one or two variables within the data, such as households that were unbanked and that used prepaid cards. After generating the initial table, you can select filter variables by clicking Change Row Variables or Add Filter located just above the table. You can select up to two filters. For each filter selection, select a topic, variable, and the value(s) of the variable to filter on.
How do I interpret the table output?
The output is best understood by reading left to right across the columns. The first column identifies the group of households (e.g., “All households” or “Black households”), the second column presents the estimated number of households in the group, the third column is always 100, and the remaining columns give the proportion of households in each categorical value of the analysis variable (e.g., for the variable “Unbanked” the categories are “Unbanked” and “Has bank account”).
What should I do if my table shows NA or "Not enough observations to provide estimates for this table. Please select a broader geography or remove additional filters."?
These messages may display if there are not enough observations to provide a precise estimate. The Five-Year Estimates Table Tool can be used to generate five-year estimates of unbanked rates. See the Five-Year Estimates Frequently Asked Questions for details.
What does the multiyear option of the tool do?
The multiyear option generates a table that consists of single-year estimates for multiple years, allowing you to compare certain variables across multiple surveys.
Why do some of the 2013-2017 estimates I obtained through the custom data table tool differ from estimates that I had obtained prior to the release of the 2021 survey data for the same variable and year?
In the 2013 and later survey data, item nonresponse (that is, nonresponse to individual survey questions) was addressed through imputation, consistent with the Census Bureau's treatment of missing values in the CPS. For a given question, item nonresponse occurred when a household refused to answer the question, responded “don't know,” or dropped out of the survey before the question was administered. For nearly all missing values in the 2013 and later survey data, the Census Bureau implemented hot deck allocation, replacing a missing value for a particular question with a response to the same question provided by a household with similar characteristics. See Appendix 1 of the 2023 report for additional details. Missing values in the 2009 and 2011 survey data were not imputed.
Estimates using 2013, 2015, and 2017 survey data may not match previously published estimates because missing values in the 2013, 2015, and 2017 survey data were replaced with imputed data at the time of the release of the 2021 survey data.
How do I download the table I have generated?
Once you have created your table, save the table as a PDF or spreadsheet (CSV) by clicking the appropriate file type next to Download As above or below the table.
Can I download all the data instead of using this tool?
Yes, all datasets may be downloaded through the Data Downloads and Resources page. Once downloaded, you will need to employ a statistical analysis package to process the data.
How do I contact technical support?
For additional information, please see the Custom Data Table Tool Instructions. You may also email the Survey Team at HouseholdSurvey@FDIC.gov.
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