ECONOMIC ANXIETY GROWS
Many Americans say they're worse off financially
The crowd cheers as President Donald Trump delivers a speech on energy and the economy Jan. 27 in Clive, Iowa.
Gas prices are displayed March 8 at a station on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
A for sale sign is shown for a residential home July 25 in Encinitas, California.
GALLUP POLL
As the Iran war spills over into everyday life, more Americans say they are worse off today than at most any point in the last 25 years.
More than half — 55% — say their financial situation is deteriorating, according to a new Gallup poll. While that figure is similar to the slumping sentiment Gallup registered last year, the ranks of the disaffected have grown. Only 47% of Americans were bummed about the economy in 2024.
This poll also marks the fifth straight year that Americans complained things are getting worse, not better. The only time the national mood plunged this low was during the Great Recession. Financial worries are coming to the fore amid the Iran war and ahead of the November midterm elections, putting pressure on President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Since the start of the year, Trump has asked Congress to pass legislation that would cap credit card interest rates at 10% and directed the Department of Justice to investigate meatpackers in a bid to bring down beef prices.
Trump often says he inherited from former President Joe Biden an economy in tatters, that under his guiding hand, is "roaring like never before." But the American public has been skeptical. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Trump's approval rating has slipped to the lowest level of his second term with just 34% of Americans seeing the president as a good steward of the economy and the nation.
Inflation is lower than its peak in 2022. So what's keeping Americans up at night?
They are struggling with a host of financial headaches: Years of stubbornly higher prices, the recent surge in gas prices and the rising costs of housing and healthcare. Four in 10 Americans are worried about how they will pay their monthly bills, and there has also been an 11-point rise in those concerned about making minimum credit card payments, Gallup said.
Kerigan Rosado, 29, commutes an hour each way to her job as an administrative office assistant at Central Michigan University. Her husband has a half-hour drive to his work helping people with disabilities.
Rosado says the Saginaw, Michigan, couple has sticker shot from massive price leaps at the pump. In just the last few days, a gallon of gas jumped to $4.29 from $3.99. Now, with refinery disruptions in the Midwest, she could be looking at $4.70 soon.
"I drive a Chevy Equinox, so I have maybe a 13-gallon tank, so when it's costing $50 to fill up my car, it hurts, it definitely hurts," she said. "It means that we have stopped spending in a lot of other areas. We don't go out anymore. We don't have the money to buy much of anything really."
As her anxiety rises, sticking to the essentials has become a matter of financial survival, Rosado said.
"The past year or so, it has really been hitting, but I have been watching things skyrocket since COVID, since 2020. Watching prices at the grocery store rising and rising, it feels like there isn't a whole lot I can do," she said.
'Battle with affordability'
Nearly a third of Americans cited the high cost of living as their most pressing financial problem. While that figure is below its peak of 41% in 2024 and similar to a year ago, it's still among the highest Gallup has recorded in decades.
College expenses, transportation costs and childcare are all adding up to make it harder for Americans to make ends meet.
"My whole life has been the battle with affordability," said Ray Gomez Jr., 67, of Covina, California. "This feels like everything all at once. I feel no hope."
While he has struggled with higher prices for years, he said it feels like everything from food to rent is going up. "It's more and more often," he said.
Data shows that prices are up. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, was 3.3% higher in March than a year ago.
Food prices in particular have been on the rise. While 11 of the 25 common grocery staples analyzed in a recent CouponFollow study fell in price in the last two years, the food items that are climbing have offset those savings. The study looked at the monthly consumer price index average food price data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics for the last two years.
"Inflation rose steadily in 2021, from 1.4% in January to 7% by December, and peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. It has since retreated, registering under 3% for most months since early 2025," Gallup said. "Yet it has not consistently returned to the sub-3% range typical of the decade before 2021 — something consumers may be anticipating."
Housing is another concern
Housing is an essential need, but it's slipping out of reach for many Americans. In this poll, it ranked as the second-largest concern.
It's no wonder: Among the millions of Americans who rent their residence, 50% are considered "cost-burdened," meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities. That includes the 27% who spend more than half their income on those expenses.
But in an age of high home prices and still-elevated mortgage rates, it's harder and harder to become a homeowner.
The median-priced home was five times greater than the median household income in 2024, which is much more than the three times-greater measurement, long a rough rule of thumb for what's affordable. Going back to 1990, the only other period in which the ratio was that high was 2005, at the height of the subprime bubble.
Home sales are deeply depressed, since many Americans who locked in ultra-low mortgage rates during the pandemic have little incentive to give them up. That's keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines.
Even those lucky enough to become homeowners are facing cost challenges. Property taxes rose 15% from 2019 to 2024, and property insurance is up a daunting 70% between 2019 and 2025 — for those who are still able to get it.
Gas prices are up
Tied with housing, surging energy costs are keeping Americans up at night. Higher prices were mentioned by 13% of Americans, up 10 percentage points from last year and the highest since 2008, Gallup said. Energy costs are now, along with housing costs, Americans' second-biggest concern.
From truckers to commuters, gasoline prices are squeezing budgets across the country. And the pain at the pump will not let up anytime soon, analysts warn.
With peace talks between the United States and Iran appearing deadlocked, the average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. rose to $4.30 Thursday — its highest level in four years, according to AAA. Gas was under $3 a gallon before the Iran war started in February. The last time Americans paid this much to fill their tanks was the summer of 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Healthcare worries mount
Six in 10 Americans worry they will not be able to cover medical costs in the event of a serious accident or illness, according to the Gallup poll. Nearly half are concerned about routine costs.
The culprit? The cost of healthcare is rising faster than wages and inflation.
The average cost for a family health insurance plan offered through the workplace in 2025 was nearly $27,000, an increase of 6% from the year before, according to healthy policy nonprofit KFF.
While most working-age Americans get health insurance through their jobs, millions who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are paying sharply higher costs because Congress failed to extend enhanced tax credits. Lower-income Americans who get Medicaid also could see cuts under Trump's tax cut and spending law passed by Congress in 2025.
At 62, David Soyka, who has worked for an import/export business for nearly 40 years, says he would retire but hasn't just so he can keep his healthcare. He has a number of serious health issues including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
If his company went under or he lost his job, Soyka fears he would have to leave the United States for a country where he could get access to low-cost or free coverage.
"Right now, I'm fine. But I am concerned about many, many millions of Americans who aren't fine," he said. "How do they manage this? They're one accident or one illness away from being bankrupt."
