95 percent say US in affordability crisis: Survey

Administration 95 percent say US in affordability crisis: Survey Comments: by Sarah Davis - 07/08/26 11:26 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 07/08/26 11:26 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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A vast majority of Americans cast a negative view of living costs in the U.S. in a poll released on Wednesday.

The survey, which was conducted by Harris Poll for The Guardian, found that 95 percent of U.S. adults believe the country is facing an affordability crisis.

The report was conducted before the U.S. military resumed operations against Iran on Tuesday — a conflict that has exacerbated domestic concerns about rising costs. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading corridor, has tightened global access to crude oil and sent energy markets skyrocketing during the months-long conflict.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday morning after the U.S. revoked its waiver on Iranian oil sanctions and President Trump said the ceasefire agreement was “over.”

Another 57 percent of respondents in the Harris survey said they believe the overall economy is getting worse — more than a 20 percent increase from before the war began in February. Around half of all Democrats, Republicans and independents said they have had issues affording the price of necessary goods like gas and food.

The issue of affordability has been a central topic in this year’s primary elections across the country, and it is expected to play a big role at the ballot box in November.

Some Republicans have taken notable steps to urge the Trump administration to end the conflict amid the cost-of-living concerns, with several GOP lawmakers joining Democrats in the House and Senate to support an Iran war powers resolution.

White House officials and the president have emphasized that rising energy prices are only temporary pains, and they celebrated the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Iran last month as a step toward economic stability. However, the resumption of conflict on Tuesday threw the efforts into question.

Meanwhile, Democrats have sought to capitalize on Trump’s comment that he “loves” inflation. The president later clarified to the New York Post that he was anticipating how great the numbers will be after the war is over.

The Harris poll was conducted from May 28 to June 6 among a sample of 4,100 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 1.9 percentage points.

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