Only this many Americans can cover a $1,000 emergency

(Fox News) - The majority of Americans say they do not have enough money saved to cover an emergency expense.

Only 48 percent of respondents told LendingTree in a recent survey that they could cover a $1,000 emergency using either cash or bank account savings, despite the fact that these types of expenses occur quite frequently. In fact, 60 percent of people said they had to cover an emergency costing at least $1,000 within the past year.

The result? Debt. One-third of people incurred debt from an emergency they couldn't afford - and 18 percent of this subset of people have emergency debt balances of at least $10,000.

Older Americans belonging to the baby boomer generation were more likely to be able to afford a $1,000 emergency, compared with Generation X or millennials.