Fewer Americans say their family’s financial health has gotten worse over the past year, according to a May survey taken by YouGov for the Economist.
The share of registered voters saying their household financial situation is worse than a year ago fell to 31.8 percent, the lowest since January 2022, according to a survey released May 18.
For most of the Biden administration, more Americans reported being worse off than staying the same. That changed just after the election in November, when the share of Americans reporting that their household financial situation was unchanged climbed above the share saying it worsened.
To be sure, far more Americans say they are worse off or unchanged than better off. Just 16.1 percent say they are better off in the most recent poll, versus 49.6 who say their situation is unchanged. That’s typically been the case as far back as 2009, when the YouGov records start.
In 2020, just before the pandemic struck, nearly as many Americans said they were better off—36 percent—as said they were unchanged—41.2 percent. Only 18.4 said they were worse off.
Looking forward, Americans are still relatively optimistic. A different YouGov poll, released May 7th, found that 39.9 percent of Americans say they expect to be better off a year from now. The share expected no change comes in at 27.5 percent. The share expecting to be worse off is at 20.3 percent.
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