High-earning millennials and Gen Zers feel broke and conflicted: ‘I make a good salary, I shouldn’t be struggling this much’

Financial stress in America isn’t just maxxing out a credit card or missing a rent payment anymore. It’s quiet money anxiety eating away at millions of Americans. It’s “the sound of the waiter bringing the bill at your favorite restaurant while you’re mentally calculating whether you can still afford your friend’s wedding next month,” said Nia Baiyeroju, a Gen Z money coach and founder of Nia Knows Finance, told Fortune. It’s a phenomenon that’s become widespread. Survey results from 5,075 U.S. adults aged 21 and older, published in a new study this week by Edward Jones and Gallup, show that just 16% of Americans feel financially fulfilled. Meanwhile, 83% (roughly 216 million people, according to the study) report financial stress, strain, or uncertainty. The majority of those stressed Americans, 51%, fall into what the study calls a “conflicted” middle, meaning they’re not in crisis, but not confident about their finances, either. “Financial stress isn’t limited to people in crisis—it’s affecting millions who appear stable but don’t feel secure or fulfilled,” Edward Jones managing partner Penny Pennington (recognized on Fortune’s 2026 Most Powerful Women list) said in the report. Gallup CEO Jon Clifton also noted in the study that, for the fifth consecutive year, more Americans say their finances are getting worse rather than better. Other data from Bank of America has shown even households earning more than $150,000 are living paycheck to paycheck, and lifestyle creep is dragging down people who make half a million dollars. The overall trend in the Edward Jones data is that financial strain appears even when the numbers look fine on paper. ‘An emotion before it’s ever a number’ The people Baiyeroju describes as feeling financially insecure aren’t behind on bills. “They’re saving, staying out of debt, doing the right things, but still feeling insecure because