Most Americans fear for their current standard of living amid the highest rate of inflation in four decades — and those at the bottom rung of the income ladder say they are bearing the brunt of the disastrous economy, according to a poll released on Monday.
The Gallup survey found that more than half of Americans — 52% — say they are very or moderately worried about keeping up their lifestyle, up from 45% last year.
In addition, four in 10 Americans say they are fretting about paying their regular monthly bills, up from 32% in 2021, and 35% say they are stressing about keeping up with their rent or mortgage payments (30% last year).
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) are worried they won’t have enough money to retire, up from 58% in 2021 and 54% in 2019.
Financial anxieties are more pronounced among those making less than $40,000 a year.
Among that income group, 73% say they worry about maintaining their standard of living, a 17 percentage-point jump over 2021, while 66% fear not having the money to pay their monthly bills, a 15-point hike.
In the same income bracket, 59% are sweating paying their rent or mortgage — a 12 percentage-point rise over 2021.
Among those earning up to $99,999 a year, 52% worry about maintaining their financial standing, up from 46% last year, and 40% are anxious about paying monthly bills, an increase of five percentage points. More than a third of that group — 34% — worry about paying their rent or mortgage, up from 30% in 2021.
Only 36% of Americans in the highest income range, with earnings of $100,000 or more, worry about preserving their standard of living (up from 32% last year) — but concern about paying monthly bills among that group has jumped 11 percentage points to 18% and worries about paying rent and mortgages increased eight percentage points to 15%.
The poll surveyed 1,018 adults between April 1 and 19. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.