I'm not surprised by that number. In my estimation, that number is actually much higher than most would like to think about or admit.
The reality is, almost everyone lives paycheck to paycheck....probably even most of the "No not I" people in this thread. The reality is, if you need a paycheck to survive, then you're paycheck to paycheck because you couldn't just stop working right now and live indefinitely, pay your monthly expenses indefinitely and pay off any outstanding debts like student loans, car loans and mortgage based on what you have accumulated. Yea, some may be able to not work for 3 months or 6 months or maybe a year or maybe even two years based on their savings. But eventually, most are going to be on some job site filling out applications and going on interviews.
How many could really stop right now and say "well, everything is paid off and I got a couple hundred stacks in the account...I think I'll retire tomorrow." How many people have their mortgage paid off in full right now? How many have their car(s) paid off right now? How many have their student loans all paid off right now? AND have a couple hundred stacks liquid in the account that you can touch right now? I don't mean an IRA or some other retirement account that you can't withdraw from without paying taxes/penalties? So, even the "I have a 12 month emergency savings account" can't do that until they have reached the level where they are truly autonomous.
So, with this in mind, its not about how much money one makes at a job. Its about what one owns and who one does not owe. The dude who lives in North Philly with his rowhome paid off, his cars paid off and no debt is experiencing more financial freedom than the dude who makes 100k a year but has 275k left on the mortgage, 25k left on his Audi payments and 75k in student loan debt. Because even though the second guy may have more income, the North Philly dude has more freedom...he's not beholden to a paycheck anymore.
Peace