Connecticuters report that lack of financial knowledge carries a high cost, according to the NFEC’s most recent survey. Participants across the state responded to the single question: “During the past year, about how much money do you think you lost because you lacked knowledge about personal finances?” The results are shown below. Since 2017, the NFEC has conducted this annual survey, consistently revealing that the average individual cost of financial illiteracy approaches or exceeds $1,000 per person – with estimated national losses reaching into the hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and losses in the hundreds of millions across Connecticut.

Insecurity in terms of food and housing are the two main indicators of financial vulnerability in America today. The nonprofit organization Feeding America gathers data representing food insecurity in each state. Their most recent report shows that one in seven Connecticuters are facing hunger – 516,640 people in total (13.8%), of whom 122,660 are children. Among those Connecticut households receiving the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, 31.4% have children in the home.
Connecticut had a total homeless population of 3,410 as of 2024, translating to a homeless rate of 9%, according to the World Population Review (WPR). More than 500,000 people are unhoused across the U.S. today. The WPR cites the four top causes of the homeless problem (in order) as: lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, and low wages.