Who’s Feeling the Pinch from High Inflation?

December 1, 2022

This article is included in these additional categories:

African-American | Customer-Centric | Demographics & Audiences | Hispanic | Household Income | Spending Trends | Youth & Gen X

Roughly 6 in 10 Americans are very concerned about inflation, and this issue is more important to them than a range of others including jobs and the economy and national security, per recent YouGov research. A separate survey from YouGov indicates that 55% of US adults have felt the impact of high inflation “a lot” in their life.

Inflation’s impact isn’t evenly spread across demographic groups, though. It appears to be most acutely felt by the middle-aged, as 61% of respondents ages 45-64 profess to have been impacted “a lot.” By comparison, fewer than half (47%) of 18-29-year-olds feel that they’ve been impacted to that degree by high inflation.

Perhaps not so surprisingly, those with higher income levels feel more shielded from the impacts of high inflation. A below-average 46% of respondents with family income of at least $100K have felt the sting, compared to 63% of those with family income of less than $50K.

On a racial/ethnic basis, Hispanics (50%) are the least likely to say they’ve been impacted “a lot,” while Black adults are the most likely (57%) to report this.

Meanwhile, those living in cities (46%) are less likely than those in rural areas (61%) to have felt a lot of impact from high inflation.

Inflation is certainly a political topic, and that shows in how the responses pan out by party affiliation. Two-thirds (67%) of Republicans surveyed claim to have felt a lot of impact from high inflation, about twice the percentage of Democrats (38%) who say the same.

This partisanship also manifests in beliefs of who’s to blame. About 3 in 4 Republicans say Democrats are to blame, while 16% of Democrats agree that their own party is culpable. When it comes to Republicans’ culpability, Democrats are less likely to point the finger (53%), while very few Republicans (7%) are willing to admit any blameworthiness.

There’s more parity between both groups on the topic of the culpability of the price of foreign oil (62% of Democrats; 65% of Republicans) and the war in Ukraine (33% of each group).

And while about half (52%) of American adults believe that large corporations seeking maximum profits are to blame, this sentiment is far more prevalent among Democrats (66%) than Republicans (39%).

For more, check out the full survey results here.

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