Polls Reveal Growing Discontent Among Americans Over Economic Struggles and Rising Costs

In recent weeks, a wave of pessimism has swept across America concerning the state of the economy. This growing dissatisfaction is largely directed at President Donald Trump, as many citizens struggle with the burden of rising prices. A series of four polls released recently capture this sentiment, highlighting a nation grappling with economic uncertainty.

Amidst ongoing tensions with Iran and stubbornly high gas prices, a significant portion of the American populace is voicing their discontent with the nation’s economic trajectory. Many believe that the situation is worsening, a sentiment echoed across various demographic groups.

According to a Gallup survey, 47% of Americans now describe the current economic conditions as “poor,” marking an increase of 7 percentage points since March. Furthermore, 73% believe the economy is deteriorating, which also reflects a 7-point rise from the previous month. A separate poll conducted by Fox News reinforces this outlook, with 70% of registered voters feeling the economy is declining—a 15-point jump from last April, equaling a previous peak set earlier in 2023.

While the Fox News poll indicates that 41% of registered voters rate the economy negatively—unchanged from the prior month—this figure still eclipses the roughly one-quarter of voters who view the economy in a positive light. Notably, there is a partisan divide, with Republicans more likely to express optimism about the economic situation compared to their Democratic counterparts.

Furthermore, a survey by Marquette Law School reveals that 70% of Americans anticipate inflation will rise over the coming year, an increase of 9 points since January. This expectation of escalating inflation further fuels concerns about the future economic landscape.

The Gallup Economic Confidence Index, which measures the economy from a range of -100 (poor) to +100 (good), dropped 11 points this month from -27 in March to -38 now, the lowest rating since November 2023. Despite Republicans being the only partisan group to rate the economy positively in the index, their economic rating dropped 15 points between March and April, larger than declines among Democrats or independents.

Trump’s role

Most voters blame Trump for the economy. Fox News found that by a 2-to-1 margin, voters said Trump’s policies were hurting (56%) rather than helping (28%) the economy.

While a majority of Republicans said Trump’s policies are helping the economy in the Fox poll, there’s a large split between MAGA Republicans, and non-MAGA Republicans. While 70% of MAGA Republicans said Trump’s policies are helping the economy, that falls to 30% among non-MAGA Republicans.

And an increasing share of Americans say that Trump’s policies are adding to the country’s inflation woes. Marquette found 62% of Americans saying Trump’s policies would increase inflation, up from 45% who said the same at the end of 2025.

Fox News found 66% of voters disapproving of how Trump is handling the economy and 34% approving, tying last month’s ratings and marking a record low in approval (and record high in disapproval) over both of Trump’s terms. Marquette found a similar 68% of Americans disapproving of how Trump is handling the economy along with 76% disapproving of how he is handling inflation and the cost of living.

The Trump administration has defended its economic policies and blamed the Biden administration and Democrats for the state of the economy.

“Every single American at every income level there’s more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies,” Trump said earlier this month at a roundtable event touting his “no tax on tips” policy.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later touted those same tax policies and said, “President Trump’s working family tax cuts have put a historic amount of money back into the pockets of the American people this year.”

Personal finances and gas prices

Americans are dour about their personal finances and are particularly attuned to high gas prices.

Six in 10 voters in the Fox poll rated their own personal financial situation “only fair” or “poor,” including 28% who said it was poor. Majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans rated their personal finances negatively in the Fox poll.

The Marquette poll found just 2 in 10 Americans saying they were personally better financially off than they were a year ago, down 8 points from January.

Those negative ratings might be due to high prices. Large shares of Americans are noticing high gas and grocery prices: 82% of Americans said grocery prices had gone up over the last six months and 93% said the same about gas prices, according to Marquette. In January, just 21% said the same about gas prices.

Most voters said higher prices are a major problem for them. The Fox poll found large shares of voters saying that grocery prices (62%), gas prices (60%), healthcare costs (55%) and housing costs (52%) were major problems for their families.

Voters are trying to cut back elsewhere to make up for the higher costs they are paying for gas and food. A CNBC poll found nearly 8 in 10 voters saying they had done at least one of the actions asked about, including about 6 in 10 who said they were spending less on out-of-home entertainment and just over half who said they were traveling less because of the high costs of gas and food. About 4 in 10 said they were spending less on “essential items like groceries and medical care” and about 3 in 10 said they were putting more purchases on credit cards.

Voters are also blaming the war in Iran: The CNBC poll found 64% of voters saying the war in Iran was not worth the increase in gas prices.

Americans are down on the job market. Gallup found 63% of Americans saying it was a bad time to find a job and 33% saying it was a good time, slightly worse than the 38% who said the same in January and the same as November tying the worst rating since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite some recent all-time stock market highs, most Americans are wary about investing. A slim 53% majority of Americans said in the Gallup poll that it would be a bad idea to invest $1,000 into the stock market right now. 

The Gallup poll was conducted April 1-15 among 1,001 U.S. adults and has an error margin of +/- 4 percentage points.

The Fox News poll was conducted April 17-20 among 1,001 registered voters and has an error margin of +/- 3 percentage points.

The Marquette Law School poll was conducted April 8-16 among 982 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points.

The CNBC All-America Economic Survey was conducted April 15-19 among 1,000 registered voters and has an error margin of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

ABC News’ Liz Schreier contributed to this reporting.