--- title: 228 Million People Were Eligible for Stimulus Checks — but Not Everybody Got One description: Who got stimulus checks during the pandemic? A new report shows 228 million Americans were eligible, but not everyone received payments. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2023-05-12T16:36:13.000Z' modified: '2024-02-18T13:40:19.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News - stimulus checks word_count: 375 canonical: https://money.com/who-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Stimulus Checks](https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Stimulus-Check.jpg) Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government distributed three rounds of special advance tax credits to eligible Americans as part of its relief efforts. These [stimulus checks](https://money.com/claim-stimulus-check-money-taxes/) were widely credited with reducing the economic harm the pandemic could have caused and helping families stay afloat during the crisis. But how many people actually received stimulus checks? About 210 million adults received a payment in the first round, according to a [new paper](https://www2.census.gov/library/working-papers/2023/adrm/ces/CES-WP-23-24.pdf) published by the Center for Economic Studies (a division of the U.S. Census Bureau). That’s nearly two-thirds of the entire population of the United States. And yet apparently not everyone who was eligible for a stimulus check actually got their money. ## Concerned about a sluggish economy? A High-Yield Savings Account can help ### Everyone should have some cash savings on hand for emergencies and short-term financial goals. Why not have it work in your favor also? Click on your state and open a Discover®️ account today! [Open an Account Today](https://money.com/pr/c134bdb5051a?ap_referrer=%2Fwho-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report%2F) ## Who received stimulus checks, and how quickly? In total, the researchers found that nearly 228 million people were potentially eligible for a check — that means 92% of people who were eligible for a check actually received one. The researchers point out that this is relatively high rate of receipt. But still, it means that millions of Americans could have gotten a check did not receive one — despite the IRS's [efforts to distribute credits](https://money.com/irs-letter-people-eligible-stimulus-checks/) to every eligible person. The share of eligible people over age 60 who received a payment was especially high at 94%, which the researchers attribute to the federal government’s effort to reach [Social Security recipients](https://money.com/social-security-cola-next-year-2024/). There were also differences across racial groups, with white individuals most likely to receive a check if eligible (94%) and Hispanic individuals among the least likely (87%). The researchers also analyzed how fast people received payments. They found that the [first direct deposit payments](https://money.com/who-gets-stimulus-checks-first/) were sent out within two weeks of the passage of the [CARES Act](https://money.com/coronavirus-student-loans-suspended/) (the legislation that authorized the first round of emergency payments), and the first paper checks were mailed within a month. That’s very fast by historical standards, according to the paper. During the Great Recession, for instance, the first direct deposit of relief payments was issued within 11 weeks, while the first paper checks were sent within 13 weeks. ## Save money the right way with a High-Yield Savings Account ### For an easy and effective way of saving money, a High-Yield Savings Account from Barclays is a good bet. Just click below and open your account today. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/ue555606400c?ap_referrer=%2Fwho-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/19227/medium_5c3a0d96-3da5-45d8-8e99-d58f043e9433.png) With a Savings Account from SoFi®, you can save money while earning it [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/s46e80315d91?ap_referrer=%2Fwho-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/who-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stimulus Check", "item": "https://money.com/stimulus-check/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "228 Million People Were Eligible for Stimulus Checks — but Not Everybody Got One" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/who-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/who-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report/", "name": "228 Million People Were Eligible for Stimulus Checks — but Not Everybody Got One", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-05-12T16:36:13.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/who-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/who-got-stimulus-checks-eligibility-report/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-02-18T13:40:19.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "228 Million People Were Eligible for Stimulus Checks — but Not Everybody Got One", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Stimulus-Check.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Stimulus-Check" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. 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