Personal Finances Hit Biden Era Lows: 24% Say Finances Getting Better, 39% Say Worse

Publication Date: 03/18/2026 9:30 AM CST

Personal Finances Hit Biden Era Lows: 24% Say Finances Getting Better, 39% Say Worse

Publication: 03/18/2026 9:30 AM CST

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Only one quarter (24%) of voters say their personal finances are getting better, down 5 points from 2 weeks ago.
- Even more voters (39%) say their finances are getting worse, 8 points higher than 2 weeks ago.
- Over the last few months, these numbers had stayed close to breaking even near 30%.
- With the war in Iran, voters are feeling less optimistic about their finances.
- We will see if this is a lasting sentiment or a temporary blip.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters rate their personal finances as Good or Excellent, down 4 points from 2 weeks and a month ago.
- Last November, the number of voters rating their personal finances as Good or Excellent was also at 37%, the lowest since President Trump took office.
- This week, 27% of voters rate their finances as Poor, up 7 points from 2 weeks ago and up 3 points from the 21% in January.
- When President Biden took office in 2021, 48% of voters rated their personal finances as Good or Excellent.
- By the time President Trump took office in 2025, those rating their finances as Good or Excellent had fallen to 36%, near this week's 37% rating.
- A plurality of Republicans (48%) say their finances are Good or Excellent, but only 30% of Democrats say the same.
- More elite adjacent* voters (53%) than main street* voters (31%) rate their 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 this is a new trend started by the effects of the war in Iran, Democrats will have an excellent night in November.

* Elite voters are defined as those with a postgraduate degree, make more than $150,000 annually, and live in a densely populated urban area. Elite Adjacent voters have at least one of these characteristics. Main Street voters have none of these characteristics, and make up the largest portion of voters.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, March 16-17, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.