The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

How Can We Help You? I am a... Bank Customer Banker Consumer Small Business Owner Analyst/Researcher/Student Legal Professional Bank Regulator Press/Media Vendor/Contractor Legislative Staff Member Jobseeker Court Clerk Prosecutor/Probation Officer Investigator Select the information you wish to explore based on who you are I want to... Get Started

How Can We Help You? I am a... Bank Customer Banker Consumer Small Business Owner Analyst/Researcher/Student Legal Professional Bank Regulator Press/Media Vendor/Contractor Legislative Staff Member Jobseeker Court Clerk Prosecutor/Probation Officer Investigator Select the information you wish to explore based on who you are I want to... Get Started

The FDIC publishes regular updates on news and activities. Keep up with FDIC announcements, read speeches and testimony on the latest banking issues, learn about policy changes for banks, and get the details on upcoming conferences and events.

The FDIC is proud to be a pre-eminent source of U.S. banking industry research, including quarterly banking profiles, working papers, and state banking performance data. Browse our extensive research tools and reports.

The FDIC provides a wealth of resources for consumers, bankers, analysts, and other stakeholders. Browse our collection of financial education materials, data tools, documentation of laws and regulations, information on important initiatives, and more.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system. Learn about the FDIC’s mission, leadership, history, career opportunities, and more.

2017 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

The FDIC is committed to expanding Americans’ access to safe, secure, and affordable banking services. The FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households is one contribution to this end.

To assess the inclusiveness of the banking system, and in partial response to a statutory mandate, the FDIC has conducted the survey biennially since 2009.1 The most recent survey was administered in June 2017 in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, collecting responses from more than 35,000 households. The survey provides estimates of the proportion of U.S. households that do not have an account at an insured institution, and the proportion that have an account but obtained (nonbank) alternative financial services in the past 12 months. The survey also provides insights that may inform efforts to better meet the needs of these consumers within the banking system.

Estimates from the 2017 survey indicate that 6.5 percent of households in the United States were unbanked in 2017. This proportion represents approximately 8.4 million households. An additional 18.7 percent of U.S. households (24.2 million) were underbanked, meaning that the household had a checking or savings account but also obtained financial products and services outside of the banking system.

The 2017 survey examines a number of additional topics, including the methods that banked households used to access accounts, bank branch visits, use of prepaid cards, use of alternative financial services, saving for unexpected expenses or emergencies, use of credit, and the methods that households used to conduct financial transactions in a typical month.

See economicinclusion.gov for survey findings, the ability to generate custom tables and charts using 2017 and earlier years of survey data, and data downloads and documentation.

The 2017 survey report, executive summary, and other related materials are linked below. (All items are PDF files. See PDF Help for assistance.)

Related FDIC Initiatives

1 Section 7 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Conforming Amendments Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–173) calls for the FDIC to conduct ongoing surveys, “on efforts by insured depository institutions to bring those individuals and families who have rarely, if ever, held a checking account, a savings account or other type of transaction or check cashing account at an insured depository institution [‘unbanked’] into the conventional finance system.” Section 7 further instructs the FDIC to consider several factors when conducting the surveys, including estimating the size and worth of the unbanked market in the United States and identifying the primary issues that prevent unbanked individuals from establishing conventional accounts.