Many Americans see the economy as getting worse and prices of key items rising, but smaller shares of Americans are worried about their personal finances.
What you need to know about Americans' views on the economy, as of the February 6 - 9, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll:
- 53% of Americans say the economy is getting worse, while 21% say the economy is getting better and 19% say it's staying about the same
- But Americans view their own economic prospects more positively than they do the economy overall
- Only 22% of Americans expect that they and their household will be worse off financially in a year, less than the share who expect to be better off (27%) or about the same (36%)
- 67% of employed Americans say they're not very worried about losing their job, while 26% are somewhat worried and only 7% are very worried
- Among those who think the economy is getting worse, 38% think their own personal finances will be worse in a year — less than the 49% who think their finances will be the same (34%) or better (15%)
- Majorities of Americans say the prices of food, housing, and cars have gone up over the past year, while fewer say that of gas
- 79% say the price of food has gone up a lot (54%) or a little (24%), while only 9% say it's gone down
- 72% say housing costs have gone up a lot (47%) or a little (24%), while 6% say they've gone down
- 63% say the price of cars has gone up a lot (38%) or a little (24%), while 4% say it's gone down
- 39% say the price of gas has gone up a lot (15%) or a little (23%), while 37% say it's gone down a little (25%) or a lot (11%)
- Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say prices have gone up in the past year for all four of food, housing, cars, and gas
- A consistent finding in opinion polling is that supporters of the party that holds the presidency state more positive views on the economy than do supporters of the opposition party
- But majorities of Republicans say food, housing, and cars have gotten more expensive in the past year
Image: Getty (Chase Castor / Stringer)
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