Connecticut RAPID Survey 3:

Financial Security and Material Hardship

February 2026

The Connecticut RAPID survey on Financial Security and Material Hardship received responses from 1,163 primary caregivers of children under 6 years old from 137 towns across Connecticut. Responses were received in September and October of 2024.

This survey asked parents about:

  • Financial security, including perception of financial security, having a bank account, having emergency savings, and debt.

  • Material hardship, including difficulty paying for basic needs, housing instability, and food insecurity.

National research shows that material hardship is associated with emotional distress for both parents and children.

The results provide insights into the financial and material struggles faced by many families in Connecticut. The findings also reveal deep racial and ethnic disparities in financial security, with implications for both parent and child well-being.

It is important to note that survey respondents are not representative of all families with young children across the state. Respondents were recruited through community-based organizations and tended to have lower household income than families statewide.

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Key Findings

The results reveal that many parents of young children in Connecticut are struggling to make ends meet. Respondents mentioned the high cost of child care; rising prices for utilities, housing, and groceries; high debt burdens; and stagnant wages as contributing to their financial struggles. This financial insecurity has tangible impacts on families’ ability to meet their basic needs, with many experiencing food insecurity and housing instability.

Parents reported that their financial insecurity negatively impacted both their own and their children’s mental health and well-being, although many parents reported that they try to shelter their children from their financial struggles. Among parents who did not feel financially secure, 52% reported that their family’s financial situation had negatively impacted their own mental health and well-being, and 26% reported that it had negatively impacted their children’s mental health and well-being.

Parents of all races and ethnicities reported experiencing financial insecurity and material hardship. However, these struggles were reported by a significantly larger proportion of Latino and Black parents, reflecting systemic inequities in access to opportunity and financial stability in Connecticut.

  • Latino and Black parents of young children in Connecticut experience lower financial security and take on more debt.

    • Only 20% of Latino parents and 25% of Black parents reported feeling financially secure, compared to 37% of White parents.

    • Only 29% of Latino parents and 35% of Black parents said they could afford a $1,000 emergency expense without going into debt, compared to 57% of White parents.

    • Only 26% of Latino parents and 32% of Black parents expected to pay their next month’s expenses without incurring debt or selling an asset, compared to 47% of White parents.

  • Latino and Black parents of young children experience greater material hardship including difficulty paying for basic needs, food insecurity, and housing instability.

    • 69% of Latino parents and 61% of Black parents reported that paying for their basic needs had been at least “somewhat hard,” compared to 46% of White parents.

    • 64% of Latino parents and 56% of Black parents reported experiencing food insecurity in the past year, compared to 40% of White parents.

    • 54% of Latino parents and 62% of Black parents reported having stable housing, compared to 75% of White parents.

Recommendations

These findings make clear that policymakers must do more to bolster the economic well-being of Connecticut’s families with young children and to address racial and ethnic inequities in economic opportunity. There are many policies that state policymakers can implement to make Connecticut a more affordable state for young families, including:

  • Establish a fully refundable child tax credit for low- and middle-income families

  • Continue to expand the availability of affordable child care options for parents across the state

  • Continue to strengthen state regulation of utility costs and expand programs that subsidize utility costs for lower-income families

  • Expand the Connecticut Student Loan Reimbursement program

  • Place a cap on credit card interest rates

  • End predatory lending

  • Continue to improve renter protections, including instituting a cap on rent increases

  • Continue to increase statewide investment in affordable housing

Implementing policies to improve the economic well-being of families with young children in Connecticut would support both parent and child well-being by relieving these families of the stress and hardship that come with financial insecurity.

Acknowledgements

The Connecticut RAPID Survey is part of the RAPID Survey Project led by Dr. Philip Fisher and Cristi Carman at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. The Connecticut RAPID Survey project is directed by Courtney Parkerson at The Connecticut Project. This report was authored by Cynthia Willner at CTData Collaborative.

This work was funded by The Connecticut Project. The Connecticut Project is a philanthropic, advocacy, and mobilizing organization that brings together people, ideas, and resources to build opportunity for working class people throughout the state of Connecticut.

We gratefully acknowledge the parents who responded to the survey, the 17 CT RAPID Community Partners who brought the survey to parents of young children across Connecticut, the CT RAPID Advisory Committee, and Stanford’s CT RAPID Project Team for their contributions to this work.