The survey found that 52 percent of U.S. adults believe their financial situation has deteriorated since 2020.
A new Gallup poll reveals that more than half of Americans feel worse off financially than they did four years ago.
The survey, released on Oct. 18, found that 52 percent of U.S. adults believe their financial situation has deteriorated since 2020, while 39 percent feel they are better off.
A similar Gallup poll taken at the tail end of the Trump presidency in September 2020 found this sentiment roughly reversed, with 56 percent saying they were better off and 33 percent saying they were worse off than four years prior.
Partisan divides were stark in the latest poll, with 90 percent of Republicans feeling worse off, compared to just 16 percent of Democrats. Crucially, 55 percent of Independents, a pivotal voting bloc in the close 2024 presidential race, feel worse off, with 35 percent saying their financial situation has improved.
The economic confidence index, tracked by Gallup, has been predominantly negative over the course of the Biden administration. In 2022, it reached lows not seen since the 2007–2009 recession, largely due to inflation hitting a 40-year high.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee for the coming election, has blamed President Joe Biden’s policies for inflation and what he calls economic stagnation.
“We will end the era of inflation, mayhem, misery,” Trump said at a Sept. 19 speech in Uniondale, New York, while vowing to restore prosperity by delivering “low taxes, low regulations, low energy costs, low interest rates, low inflation so that everyone can afford groceries, a car, and a home. Very simple.”
On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has been emphasizing the Biden administration’s economic recovery efforts.
“Our country has come a long way since President Biden and I took office,” Harris said in an August speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, citing the creation of 16 million jobs, infrastructure investments, and inflation falling to around 3 percent, while attributing the lingering effects of inflation to voters’ economic pessimism.
“Still, we know that many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives,” Harris said. “Costs are still too high. And on a deeper level, for too many people, no matter how much they work, it feels so hard to just be able to get ahead.”
For three straight years, inflation has been the top concern among Americans, according to Gallup, even as unemployment remains low and economic growth has remained relatively steady.
With less than three weeks to go until Election Day, the issue of voters’ perceptions of the economy has come into sharper focus, especially since various recent polls show that economic concerns dominate voter priorities in this election cycle.
An Oct. 9 Gallup poll showed that the economy ranked as the most crucial issue for voters, while also indicating that 54 percent of registered voters think Trump would better manage the economy, compared to 45 percent who believe Harris would do a better job on economic issues.