By Tara Suter - 06/19/24

Almost half of Americans say they are having a hard time staying where they are financially, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by Monmouth University’s Polling Institute and released Wednesday, found 46 percent of Americans surveyed said they are struggling to remain where they are financially.

Forty-five percent of Americans in the same poll said they are “basically stable” in their financial situation, while only 9 percent said their financial situation is improving.

Monmouth said the results reflect the difficulties many Americans are experiencing with the rapid inflation after the pandemic. Though inflation has cooled, the jump from before the pandemic has been significant.

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“Even with a declining inflation rate, prices continue to be much higher than they were four years ago,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “That’s the metric that has really mattered to many Americans over the past two years. Economic concerns may not be the top motivating factor for all voters but it defines the contours of this year’s election.”

The findings from the new poll show an increase in those who said they are struggling to remain where they are financially in comparison to only six months ago, up 2 points from 44 percent in December.

Twenty-four percent told Monmouth inflation and “rising prices” are the “biggest concern facing” their “family right now.”

The Monmouth University poll was conducted June 6-10 among a sample of 1,106 people and had a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.