At least 35 percent of Americans in more than half of all states, including five key swing states, reported that they had difficulty covering household expenses in a June and July survey published Wednesday. The data is backdropped by the U.S. presidential race, where voters have regularly tabbed the economy and inflation as the top issues.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse survey of 70,429 U.S. households finds that at least 35 percent of Americans in a whopping 33 states between June 25 and July 22 said it was “somewhat or very difficult to pay for typical expenses.” Axios notes. Five essential swing states and Virginia, where the presidential election could be close, are among locations where folks are financially reeling to such a high degree.
For example, in Pennsylvania, 35.1 percent of respondents reported having trouble covering their expenses in an economy that was ravaged by 40-year-high inflation under the Biden-Harris administration.
In a separate CNN/SSRS poll also published on Wednesday, Keystone State voters overwhelmingly selected the economy (40 percent) as their most important issue when choosing a candidate for president. The next most popular issue, “protecting democracy,” was 13 points back at 27 percent.
In Georgia, where fomrer President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are polling closely together, an even larger share of respondents said they are having trouble meeting their budgets. Over four in ten Georgians say this is the case, making it one of the ten states with the highest shares of citizens financially struggling.
This is reflected in the CNN/SSRS poll, where 43 percent of Georgia voters say the economy is top of mind heading into the election.
The Household Pulse survey further reveals that 39.4 percent of Arizonans, 36 percent of Michiganders, and 38.5 percent of Nevadans also find it challenging to cover household expenses.
The CNN/SSRS poll found a plurality of voters in each of these states categorized the economy as the number one issue. In Arizona, 39 percent of voters said it is the top issue, while 38 percent of Michiganders said the same. Four in ten Nevadans chose the economy as the preeminent issue in this cycle.
What is more, in Virginia, a typically blue state that the Harris campaign is now defending, 35 percent of respondents are having trouble making ends meet, per the Household Pulse Survey. Virginia was not a state sampled in the CNN/SSRS poll.
The CNN/SSRS poll further found that voters in each state trust Trump more on the economy, as Breitbart News reported:
- Arizona: (Trump+15) – Harris 37%, Trump 52%, Neither 11%
- Georgia: (Trump+4) – Harris 44%, Trump 48%, Neither 8%
- Michigan: (Trump+5) – Harris 44%, Trump 49%, Neither 7%
- Nevada: (Trump+16) – Harris 37%, Trump 53%, Neither 9%
- Pennsylvania: (Trump+8) – Harris 42%, Trump 50%, Neither 8%
- Wisconsin: (Trump+2) – Harris 45%, Trump 47%, Neither 8%
The poll sampled 682 voters in Arizona, 617 in Georgia, 708 in Michigan, 626 in Nevada, 789 in Pennsylvania, and 976 in Wisconsin from August 23-29, 2024. The margin of sampling error in each state was up to ±4.9 percentage points.
The surveys follow a CBS News report in late August titled “More Americans are having to choose between food and energy bills.”
One woman, Stacey Freeman, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, told the outlet she often has to weigh paying her electric bill versus other essential needs.
“Sometimes I have to choose whether I’m going to pay the light bill,” Freeman told the outlet, “or do I pay all the rent or buy food or not let my son do a sport?”