Just 15% of surveyed Americans believe capitalism is working as intended for hardworking people, according to Operation HOPE’s third-quarter 2026 HOPE Insider survey. Yet 87% of respondents remain hopeful their financial well-being will improve over the next year.
The survey also found that 69% of respondents live paycheck to paycheck, while half said their personal debt increased over the previous three months.
Survey Finds Growing Doubts About Economic Opportunity
Only 15% of respondents believe the US economic system works as it should, according to Operation HOPE’s latest survey released through Business Wire on October 19. The quarterly survey collected responses from more than 1,500 adults, small business owners and entrepreneurs who have used Operation HOPE’s financial wellness services. It found that roughly one-third believe capitalism works but disproportionately benefits people who already have money. Another third said the system is broken and needs to be fixed.
Views on building wealth were also divided. About 40% said someone starting with very little can still build substantial wealth in today’s economy. Meanwhile, 41% believe doing so has become much harder than it used to be. Another 15% said success largely depends on having the right connections or luck.
The findings highlight concerns about economic mobility even as respondents report greater optimism about their personal finances. However, the survey reflects the experiences of Operation HOPE clients rather than a representative sample of the entire US population.
Financial Optimism Rises Despite Debt and Housing Pressures
The survey found signs of improvement in some measures of household finances. The share of respondents living paycheck to paycheck declined to 69% from 76% in the previous quarter. The percentage who said they were better off financially than a year earlier increased to 36% from 29%.
Debt remains a concern. Half of respondents said their personal debt had increased over the preceding three months. Nearly half, or 46%, had used a buy now, pay later service during that period. Among those users, 51% said they reserved these services for larger purchases such as replacing an appliance.
Housing affordability was another major pressure point. Some 86% of respondents expressed concern about local housing prices, although 45% said they were hopeful that housing prices would create better homeownership opportunities over the next 12 months. That compared with 38% a year earlier.
Despite those challenges, 87% said they were hopeful their financial wellbeing would improve over the next year. The share describing themselves as very hopeful rose to 55% from 44% in the prior quarter.
Operation HOPE said its third-quarter impact data also showed progress among program participants. Those who improved their credit scores recorded an average gain of 39 points. The organization reported a median debt reduction of $1,963 and a median savings increase of $1,000.
The HOPE Insider research page provides further information about the quarterly survey. For readers following personal finance and wealth-building strategies, the findings underline a gap between confidence in individual financial progress and concerns about whether the wider economic system offers equal opportunities.