Explore how wealth inequality has varied across race, age, and time in the US over the past 60 years, what’s driving inequities, and how policymakers can close these gaps and help all Americans build wealth.
What would it take to ensure that all people—no matter their zip code, race, gender, or income—have the financial security to invest in their future, provide for their families, and live with dignity?
We believe answers can be found in data—specifically, data on how people pay their bills, handle their spending, save for emergencies, manage their debt, build wealth for the future, and interact with financial technologies. Consumer data on these topics exist but are fragmented. Decisionmakers therefore lack a complete picture of people’s financial lives, which has led to disjointed solutions, some of which have exacerbated financial inequities.
The Urban Institute’s Financial Well-Being Data Hub is addressing these challenges by bringing together disparate data sources to provide a holistic understanding of people’s financial well-being. By considering public and proprietary datasets, as well as insights from people’s experiences, Urban is delivering evidence-based solutions anchored in a comprehensive portrait of households’ financial lives. With this information, today’s change agents—from community advocates to corporate leaders—will be better equipped to narrow inequities and advance financial well-being for all people.
The Financial Well-Being Data Hub is exploring research questions across the following four pillars:
Products
How might financial products and services help consumers be financially resilient and thrive?
People
How might tailored solutions reduce disparities across race, ethnicity, gender, age, and income?
Places
How might local interventions improve financial well-being and reduce inequities in communities?
Policies
How might policies and regulations protect consumers, advance equity, and enhance financial well-being?
Interested in joining the conversation, sharing data, or funding research to identify solutions? To learn more about how your organization can collaborate with the Financial Well-Being Data Hub, contact Thea Garon at [email protected].
The Financial Well-Being Data Hub is funded by Intuit, Capital One Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, BMO Bank, and Wells Fargo. For more on Urban’s funding policies, go to urban.org/about/our-funding.
Steering Committee Advisors and Funders
Aarón E. Almada*
Sr. Manager, Community Impact & Investment, Capital One
Seema Agnani
Executive Director, National CAPACD
Marla Bilonick
President & CEO, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB)
Ray Boshara
Legislative Fellow, US Senator Bob Casey
Senior Advisor, Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis
Kant Desai
Senior Principal, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund
Paul Dilda*
Head of Consumer Strategy, BMO Bank
Jesús Gerena
CEO, UpTogether
Krista Holub*
Strategic Research Program Manager, Global Corporate Affairs, Intuit
Karen Murrell
Project Manager, Asset Funders Network
Rey Ocañas*
Executive Vice President, Community Development Banking, PNC
Ellen Seidman
Nonresident Fellow, Urban Institute
David Silberman
Senior Fellow, Center for Responsible Lending
Former Associate Director, CFPB
Nadia van de Walle*
Vice President, Banking Inclusion Initiative, Wells Fargo
Sarah Willis*
Executive Director, Head of Financial Health, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase
* Financial Well-Being Data Hub funders