Young People’s Finances and Overall Well-Being Are Key to their Political Engagement

Recent CIRCLE research has investigated and described the extent of young people’s financial struggles and their impact on youth’s civic attitudes and engagement. At the same time, economic issues like the cost of living, jobs, healthcare, and housing have consistently ranked among young people’s top election-year priorities.

Our work has also examined links between civic participation and young people’s well-being, broadly defined. We have looked at how youth’s mental health struggles can intersect with their activism, and how a lack of community connections and sense of belonging can negatively impact opportunities for participation.

This analysis updates and expands on that previous research with an eye toward engaging youth in the 2026 midterm election. Using data from our pre-election survey, conducted in partnership with When We All Vote, we find that a significant percentage of young people are struggling financially, that those financial struggles are tied to their overall sense of well-being, and that youth may need more than just outreach and information to feel ready to participate in elections. Understanding these trends is critical to supporting all young people—especially those who may be struggling in various ways—so they can fully and equitably engage in democracy.

About the Survey: When We All Vote and CIRCLE jointly developed a 30-question survey designed to capture key attitudes and aspects of Gen Z’s political engagement. Embold Research fielded the survey to a sample of 5,549 adults between the ages of 18-29 nationally in the U.S., and it was conducted between January 26 and February 12, 2026. The sample included oversamples of Gen Z adults identifying as Black or Latino, as well as oversamples of the same populations within specific states of interest. The modeled margin of error for this survey is +/- 2.5%. A detailed accounting of the methodology is available in the full initial report—including an important note about an issue with how several questions were administered in the survey.

3 Out of 5 Youth Are Struggling Financially

Nearly 60% of youth, ages 18-29, say that they sometimes or often have trouble meeting their basic financial needs—a staggering level of economic hardship that illustrates the challenging personal context that drives whether young people can or want to participate in politics.

That level of economic struggle represents a significant increase from 2024, when 43% of youth (ages 18-34) in our post-election survey said they sometimes or often struggle. While some of that increase may be attributed to differences in sampling and methodology, the data suggests that young people may be even worse off financially than they were two years ago.

Unsurprisingly, there are significant inequities. Young women (62%) are more likely to be struggling than young men (54%). Black (70%) and Latino youth (68%) are more likely to be struggling than multiracial (64%), white (53%), and Asian youth (42%). Youth without college experience are also struggling economically more than those who have gone to college: 72% vs. 53%.

There are also differences by political affiliation, participation, and attitudes. Our previous research found that youth who are struggling financially were less likely to vote or feel a strong sense of political efficacy. That is still the case today: young people who reported that they did not vote in 2024 were more likely to say they’re struggling than those who did cast a ballot. And, as we already reported, youth who are struggling today were also less likely than financially stable youth to say they’re “extremely likely” to vote in 2026.

Youth who are struggling may not be voting because they do not see political participation improving their lives. Nearly two-thirds of youth (64%) who don’t believe their vote matters are struggling financially, compared to 53% of those who are financially stable. Struggling youth may also have less trust in political institutions like the major parties if their own financial situations are tenuous. Sixty-nine percent of young independents (who don’t affiliate with either political party) say they’re struggling, compared to 58% of young Democrats and 51% of young Republicans.

Our survey also dug deeper into young people’s financial situations by asking about specific needs or aspects of the economy that they’re most concerned about. Overwhelmingly, young people were most likely to cite basic life necessities like the cost of housing and utilities (66%), the cost of groceries and everyday items (62%), the cost of healthcare (50%), and insufficient wages (47%). At the bottom of young people’s economic concerns are the cost of transportation (20%), student debt (20%), the national deficit (17%), and the stock market (10%). Notably, only 2% of youth said they have no economic concerns at all.

This data suggests that economic concerns are near universal for youth and can be an effective way to engage them in conversations about elections or spur their participation. However, that may be most effective when economic issues are framed and tackled in terms of young people’s everyday costs and basic needs, not necessarily broader macroeconomic conditions or policies.

Financial Situation Is Connected to Overall Well-Being

Despite their economic concerns, the majority of youth say they are generally satisfied with their lives: 22% very satisfied and 47% somewhat satisfied. There are only minor differences in satisfaction by race/ethnicity or gender, but a major difference by financial situation. The vast majority of youth who are financially stable (88%) say they are satisfied with their life, compared to just 57% of financially struggling youth.

When asked what would improve their overall well-being, young people also explicitly cited remedies tied to their economic context. The top responses were more time and disposable income to enjoy their interests (49%), improvements to their financial situation (48%), and fewer problems and conflicts in the country or the world (48%). In addition, 40% of young people said improvements to their physical or mental health would improve their overall well-being, and 32% said feeling like they have a purpose and are making a difference would do the same.

Like young people’s financial situation, their overall well-being is also linked to their likelihood to vote. Among youth who say they’re extremely likely to vote, 70% say they’re satisfied with their lives. Among youth who are extremely unlikely to vote, only 55% feel satisfied. That makes it critical to support youth in the ways that they are explicitly telling us would improve their lives—and to understand differences in those potential support levers for different groups of youth. For example, as we might expect given their self-reported economic struggles, Black and Latino youth were more likely to say that improvements to their financial situation would also improve their well-being. Youth of color were also more likely to say that they wanted more educational and skill-building opportunities, which may also be related to their desire for professional advancement that could lead to a stronger financial future.

The youngest half of our surveyed age group (ages 18-24) are also more likely to say they want educational and skill-building opportunities. They are also more likely to want less conflict at home and abroad. By contrast, the slightly older group (ages 25-29) is more focused on their finances and disposable income.

There is a similar trend by gender: young women say fewer conflicts would improve their overall well-being, while young men are more focused on their economic situation. That finding is notable since, according to their self-reported financial situation, young women are more likely to be struggling. In addition, young men are twice as likely as young women (24% vs. 11%) to say that having a romantic partner would improve their well-being.

We also find important differences among youth who did and did not vote in 2024—which are critical to understand as we work to engage voters in this and future cycles. While youth who voted were more likely to say that more free time and income would be key to their well-being, young nonvoters were more likely to say that a romantic partner, improvements to their health, and more access to nature would have the biggest impact on how they feel.

This tracks with previous CIRCLE research, which has found that, for many young people, their disengagement from politics is part of a broader disconnection and dissatisfaction with other areas of their lives. It also underscores the need for a more holistic approach to youth electoral engagement exemplified by our Political Homes framework, which can help youth find belonging and meet personal and financial needs.

Youth Who Are Struggling Need to Feel Empowered and Want to See Change

The data on what youth who are struggling say they want to improve their lives and spur their political engagement underscores the need for youth to develop their political voice and receive support.

Young people who are having trouble making ends meet are less likely to believe that their voting makes a difference. They are more likely to say that they would participate more if they felt like their voice and their vote matter, which speaks to the disempowerment felt by some financially struggling youth. They are also more likely to say they would participate more if they saw changes in their communities and if candidates follow through on their promises. For many youth, voting and other forms of civic engagement are about effecting change and improving the conditions of their lives and communities. For young people who are struggling financially, that appears to be even more important.

Notably, the small number of young people who say they have wealth are overwhelmingly more likely to say that nothing would make them participate in politics more. That may suggest that some of these youth have the opportunities and resources to be as civically engaged as they want. But it also underscores the strong connection between young people’s socioeconomic condition and their political participation. Youth who are doing well financially and who are satisfied with their lives may feel so compelled to play a part in achieving political change and may have to be motivated to participate through other means.

The findings of this latest analysis reinforce our joint recommendations with When We All Vote for engaging young people in this election cycle and beyond. Young people's civic participation—or lack thereof—must be understood through the context of their experiences, especially of economic vulnerability and other struggles in their lives. Nonpartisan spaces like political homes can provide opportunities, not just for civic learning and engagement, but to give youth the kind of concrete support with basic needs and sense of belonging that is critical to empowering them in our democracy. Ultimately, whether they turn out to vote and make their voices heard will depend on how well our communities meet those needs and connect what young people are going through to their choices at the ballot box. s