One out of five Americans said that they have more credit card debt than they have in emergency savings, according to Bankrate's latest Financial Security Index survey.

Another 12 percent said they have no credit card debt, but also no savings.

While those results are the lowest percentages in the previous eight years of Bankrate polling, it also points out that one-third of Americans have little savings for emergencies.

On the positive side, 58 percent said they had more in emergency savings than in credit card debt. That result is the best percentage in the previous eight years of polling, and an increase from 52 percent in 2016 and 2017.

"As unemployment declines and household income rises, more households are making progress on boosting savings, paying down debt or both," said Greg McBride, Bankrate's chief financial analyst.

Breaking down the results by age, the survey found that millennials — people ages 18 to 37— put the highest priority on building up emergency savings, at 61 percent.

The average American adult with a credit card has about $5,839 in credit card debt, CreditCards.com reported on Feb. 8.

The survey was conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 among a sample of 1,009 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.58 percent and a 95-percent confidence level, Bankrate reported.

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