Half of voters name cost of living top concern as Trump trails on economy

Half of voters identify the cost of living as the most important economic issue facing the country, a Fox News Poll found, a result that compounds weakness in the president’s overall standing on economic questions. The survey puts Trump’s job approval at 43% approve and 57% disapprove, and shows his handling of the cost of living underwater by 35 points with a 32% approve to 67% disapprove split.

The poll shows little movement in the president’s overall rating from earlier months; Fox News cited January and December figures at 44% approve and 56% disapprove. Issue-by-issue, border security is the only area where the president posts a net positive 52% approve to 48% disapprove, while tariffs, the economy, health care, foreign policy, taxes and jobs are all in negative territory for the White House.

Voters reported widespread financial strain at the household level. More than half, 57%, rate their personal finances negatively. Negative ratings are concentrated in key demographic groups: 61% of independents, 66% of Black voters, 66% of voters under 30, 66% of women and 74% of households earning under $50,000 a year say their personal finances are poor. Those assessments could depress support for incumbents and shape messaging around aid, subsidies and wage policy.

Local labor-market perceptions are weak. Just 9% say there are a lot of jobs in their community that pay decent wages, while 15% say there are almost none. The gap between national employment statistics and voters’ impressions of local opportunities may sharpen conversations about regional economic policy and federal investment targeted at communities where workers see few high-paying openings.

When asked to rank economic priorities, voters put cost of living first by a wide margin at 50%, followed by government spending at 18%, jobs at 10%, income inequality at 9%, tariffs at 8% and taxes at 4%. That ranking frames a narrow set of voter concerns for candidates and policymakers who must choose where to focus jurisdictional authority and messaging.

Tariffs present a distinct political downside for the administration. Sixty-three percent disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs, and 56% oppose tariffs in general. Voters cite higher consumer costs, the risk of a trade war and reduced product availability as top worries, while supporters point to preventing unfair trade practices, protecting U.S. jobs, increasing government revenue and reducing the trade deficit as motivations for backing tariffs.

The Supreme Court’s Feb. 20 ruling limiting the administration’s tariff authority also altered public perceptions of fairness. The poll finds 62% say Trump is being treated fairly by the high court, including 76% of Democrats, 58% of independents and 50% of Republicans.

Johns Hopkins economist Steve Hanke summed up the political risk succinctly: "affordability [is] Trump's Achilles heel amid rising prices and Iran fallout."

The Fox News Poll materials supplied for this report did not include full topline crosstabs or methodological details such as field dates, sample size and margin of error, and one internal inconsistency in the Fox News excerpt should be verified. A sentence in the source reads "Republicans rate Trump far more negatively on the cost of living (33% disapprove) than other measures," a figure at odds with the 67% overall disapproval on Trump’s handling of the cost of living and in need of confirmation from the poll’s subgroup data.

For policymakers and campaigns, the findings make clear that affordable essentials and local job prospects remain the clearest vulnerabilities for incumbents and practical levers for challengers heading into the 2026 electoral cycle.