Personal Finances

Overview Americans are concerned about the nation’s economic problems almost to the exclusion of every other issue, and they register the lowest level of national satisfaction ever measured in a Pew Research Center survey. Just 11% say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country – down 14 points in the […]

Overview Amid record gas prices, public support for greater energy exploration is spiking. Compared with just a few months ago, many more Americans are giving higher priority to more energy exploration, rather than more conservation. An increasing proportion also says that developing new sources of energy – rather than protecting the environment – is the […]

Americans are giving higher priority to more energy exploration, rather than more conservation; concern about the environment fades as support for ANWR drilling rises.

When it comes to anxiety about family finances, an old truism applies: Where you stand depends on where you sit. Or, more precisely, on where your house or apartment sits.

Most Americans say they're not saving as much as they should -- but they're apparently not worried enough to do much about it.

While the latest statistics reported fewer job losses than analysts expected, the public is expressing increasing concern about job availability; but unlike in the 1992 downturn, such worries are concentrated in the lower portions of the income spectrum.

Only 13% of adults say it's "very important" for them to be wealthy, ranking this personal priority far behind six others measured in a new survey .

Americans feel stuck in their tracks. A majority of survey respondents say that in the past five years, they either haven't moved forward in life or have fallen backward.

About 8-in-10 Republicans now say they are "pretty well satisfied" with the way things are going for them financially. By comparison, only 54% of both independents and Democrats subscribe to that view, the largest partisan gap in 20 years of Pew values surveys.

Summary of Findings Public assessments of the nation’s economy have fallen to a two-year low, and the nation’s economic outlook remains relatively gloomy. In particular, faced with a steady stream of negative news about the U.S. housing market, Americans are substantially less inclined than they were even a few months ago to say they expect […]