Sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board, this triennial survey is the only fully-representative source of information on the broad financial circumstances of U.S. households. The SCF is unique. No other survey collects data on the household finances of a probability sample of Americans.

Data from the SCF are used to inform monetary policy, tax policy, consumer protection, and a variety of other policy issues. The data also serve as a basis for longer-term research on the economic state of the American family. The survey is thus of enormous consequence not only to the Board, which commissions it and has developed and shaped it, but also to millions of US taxpayers who have no idea of its existence.

The survey collects information from approximately 4,500 respondents. Its content is of both a highly sensitive and technical nature. The confidentiality of participants’ information is paramount. The survey employs highly secure data systems and talented interviewers who are able to communicate that message to often skeptical respondents. Interviewers also play a critical role in working with participants to record their sometimes complex information accurately in the interview. NORC conducted this survey for the sixth time in 2007 and has been awarded a contract to conduct the 2010 SCF.

Re-Interview of the 2007 SCF Respondents

In July, NORC will begin a five month nationwide data collection to re-interview the respondents to its 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) in order to assess the effects of recent economic events. Economists anticipate being able to begin using the new information in 2010.

The re-interview presents an historic opportunity to leverage data from the 2007 survey to gain scientific insight into how the economic crisis has affected the finances of American households. Always a vital tool in assessing the health of America’s economy, the SCF is seen as particularly critical at this time of economic difficulty. Although anecdotal evidence abounds, scientific and representative data are harder to come by. The re-interview is designed to provide data that will be highly comparable to that in the 2007 survey.

Results from the 2007 SCF