A majority of Americans say rising gasoline prices are straining household budgets, even as broader views of the economy show modest signs of improvement, according to a new Gallup survey.
About 67% of adults told Gallup that high fuel costs have put financial pressure on their households, with 17% describing that strain as severe, the polling organization said. The findings come from telephone interviews conducted by ReconMR between June 1 and June 15 with a random sample of 1,001 adults in U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
The survey found that gas prices are affecting Americans across income brackets, but the impact is felt most acutely at the lower end of the income scale.
Among Americans earning less than $50,000 a year, 77% said gas prices have caused hardship, and 28% called the hardship severe. Among middle-income respondents, 65% reported some hardship, with 13% describing it as severe. For those earning $100,000 or more annually, 59% reported economic hardship from fuel costs, while 8% said the strain was severe.
Driving habits have shifted as well. Gallup found that 73% of lower-income Americans said they were driving less because of gas prices, compared with 50% of middle-income adults and 53% of upper-income adults.
The gap narrowed when respondents were asked about summer travel. About 53% of lower-income Americans said they had adjusted vacation plans because of fuel costs, compared with 42% of middle- and upper-income adults.
Despite the pressure from energy costs and inflation, Americans’ overall view of the economy improved modestly in June, according to Gallup.
The share of respondents rating current economic conditions as “poor” fell to 45% in June from 49% in May. The share who said conditions are “getting worse” declined to 72% from 76% over the same period.
Roughly 36% of Americans pointed to some aspect of the economy as the nation’s top problem. Within that group, 14% cited inflation or the cost of living, 13% cited the economy generally, and 4% cited fuel prices.
Non-economic concerns continued to dominate overall, named by about 73% of respondents. Government and poor leadership ranked highest at 26%, followed by immigration at 9%.
