Personal Finances Don't Move: 26% Say Getting Better, 36% Say Worse

Publication Date: 05/13/2026 5:00 AM CST

Personal Finances Don't Move: 26% Say Getting Better, 36% Say Worse

Publication: 05/13/2026 5:00 AM CST

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About a quarter (26%) of voters say their personal finances are getting better, down 1 point from 2 weeks ago.
- Thirty-six percent (36%) say their finances are getting worse, down 1 point from 2 weeks ago, and down 2 from a month ago.
- With the war in Iran, voters are feeling less optimistic about their finances. However, things cautiously trended upwards from the 22% who said their finances were better off in late March.
Forty-one percent (41%) of voters rate their personal finances as Good or Excellent, up 2 points from 2 weeks and up 1 from a month ago.
- This week, 21% of voters rate their finances as Poor, the same as 2 weeks ago and a month ago.
- When President Biden took office in 2021 (after President Trump's first term), 48% of voters rated their personal finances as Good or Excellent.
- By the time President Trump took office again in 2025, those rating their finances as Good or Excellent had fallen to 36%.
- Half (52%) of Republicans say their finances are Good or Excellent, but only 35% of Democrats say the same.
- A solid majority (63%) of voters who talk politics every or nearly every day rate their personal finances as Good or Excellent.
Bad economic news (such as higher gas prices) impacts economic confidence immediately, and it generally takes about 6 months of good news to overcome.
- If these numbers continue, Democrats will do well in the November midterms.

For a history of how voters have felt, see the trends on personal finances.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, May 11-12, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.