Americans increasingly see the country’s biggest problems through an economic lens, according to a new Pew Research Center survey that found rising concern over health care affordability, inflation, and the federal deficit — even as political priorities continue shifting sharply along partisan lines.
The survey, released Monday and conducted among more than 5,100 U.S. adults in late April, found 73% of Americans now say health care affordability is a “very big problem,” making it one of the highest-ranked concerns nationally. Inflation followed closely at 66%, while 64% identified the federal budget deficit as a major issue.
The findings paint a picture of an electorate that remains deeply uneasy about the cost structure of everyday life, despite years of political messaging from both parties claiming economic improvement or stabilization.
What may be more revealing, however, is how fluid many of these “top issues” appear to be depending on who occupies the White House.
Pew found Republicans are now significantly less likely to call inflation a major problem than they were during the Biden administration. In May 2024, 80% of Republicans said inflation was a very big problem. That figure has now dropped to 55%. Meanwhile, Democrats moved sharply in the opposite direction, with 74% now calling inflation a very big problem, up dramatically from 46% two years ago.
The same dynamic showed up around the federal deficit. During Biden’s presidency, Republicans were far more likely to describe the deficit as a serious concern. Now, Democrats are actually slightly more likely than Republicans to say it’s a very big problem.
Illegal immigration also saw a notable decline as a perceived national crisis. Overall, 38% of Americans now say it is a very big problem, down from 48% at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term. Among Republicans, concern dropped from 73% to 60%.
That shift may reinforce a broader political reality that polling often reflects not just conditions on the ground, but how voters emotionally process issues depending on who is governing.
One issue that remained remarkably bipartisan: money in politics. Roughly three-quarters of Americans — including large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans — said the influence of money in politics is a very big problem for the country.
The survey also found broad agreement that Washington dysfunction remains a major concern, with nearly two-thirds of Americans saying the inability of Democrats and Republicans to work together is a serious national problem.
The poll was conducted April 20-26 using Pew’s American Trends Panel and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.
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