As gas prices continue to climb, new survey data from Gallup shows that inflation and high prices remain top concerns for American consumers.
Responding to an open-ended question about the most important financial problems facing their families, 31% of respondents named inflation and the high cost of living. Another 13% cited oil and gas prices, and an equal percentage said housing costs. Healthcare, cited by 8%, rounded out the list of the top four financial concerns.
Other financial issues received less attention. Just 6% named taxes as their main concern, with the state of the economy (2%), interest rates (2%) and Social Security (1%) also being mentioned by some respondents.
Worries about affordability continue to weigh on Americans’ assessments of their current financial situations. A bit less than half (46%) of respondents said their situation is excellent or good, while about a third (35%) said it is fair and 19% said it is poor — the highest reading since 2011. A majority (55%) said their financial situation is getting worse — the highest percentage recorded in data going back to 2001.
“Americans’ financial outlook in 2026 is ... historically poor,” Gallup said. “While similar to last year’s 53%, this is up from 47% in 2024 and marks the fifth consecutive year more Americans say their finances are worsening rather than improving.”
The Gallup survey of 1,001 U.S. adults was conducted April 1-15,2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
