“It's the Economy, Stupid”: Young People’s Financial Struggles Shape their Political Views and Engagement

Economic concerns emerged as one of Americans’ top priorities in the 2024 election. Polling consistently found that the economy, especially inflation, was the number one issue for the electorate. The same was true for young people: our pre-2024 election poll found that 53% of youth (ages 18-34) named cost of living/inflation as one of their top-three election priorities—far and away the most frequently cited issue. That concern appeared to grow throughout the year. In our post-2024 election poll, 64% named cost of living/inflation one of their three biggest issues. Other economic concerns, like healthcare and jobs, also made the top five.

Young people’s focus on the economy did not happen in a vacuum; for many it is the product of their own personal financial struggles. In that post-2024 election poll, 43% of youth said that they sometimes or often have trouble making ends meet or seeing to their basic financial needs. Another 33% said they are merely “stable,” and only 23% of young people considered themselves financially secure or wealthy.

For the past year, our research has examined the impact of young people’s financial situation on their electoral and civic engagement: not just the issues they prioritize and who they vote for, but whether they participate in civic life at all. We have found that financial struggles are linked to a wide range of negative attitudes and outcomes among young voters—often more so than factors like gender, education, and race. Because such a high proportion of youth say they are struggling, these trends have major implications for young people’s civic participation and for the health of democracy.

In this analysis, we summarize and highlight our research on young people’s financial situation and civic engagement conducted throughout 2025 and add previously unpublished data on which youth are struggling and how it is shaping their civic lives. And we begin to consider some of the ways institutions can engage with young people who are struggling economically to potentially moderate the effects of financial situation and support civic engagement.

Who Is Struggling Financially?

In our CIRCLE post-2024 election poll, we asked young people about their financial situation on a five-point scale: from “I often struggle to meet my basic financial needs” to “I have significant financial resources and wealth.” For the purposes of this analysis, we combine several answers and report on three categories: 1) young people who “often” or “at times” struggle to meet basic needs; 2) youth who said they are “financially stable” or live “comfortably;” and 3) young people who have significant wealth. The sample was smallest for the wealthy group, and throughout this analysis we report on findings for this outlier group the least. 

More than 40% of youth said they were struggling financially, but there were major differences by race and gender. Almost half of young women are struggling financially (48%), compared to 40% of men and 37% of gender-diverse young people. Asian youth were the least likely to be struggling (less than 30%), and 75% of young Asian women said they are financially stable or wealthy. At the other end of the spectrum, more than half (52%) of young Black men and more than two-thirds (68%) of young Black women said they sometimes or often struggled to meet basic needs.

Not surprisingly, there were also major differences by educational attainment: 35% of youth with at least some college experience were struggling, compared to 57% of young people who had never gone to college. Geographic differences also arose: 53% of youth living in rural areas and 44% of urban youth were struggling, compared to 39% of suburban youth. 

We also asked youth whether they were financially independent, being supported by their family, or supporting a family of their own. Nearly half of young people (47%) said they were financially independent, including 14% who support friends or family in addition to supporting themselves. Twenty-eight percent of young people shared financial responsibilities with their family or others in their lives, and 25% of youth were being financially supported by family.

This wide range of financial situations underscores why it’s critical to ask young people how they feel about their economic well-being, instead of merely relying on measures like household income. Some youth may report a relatively high income level but still be struggling if that household income reflects the money they need to support their own families, or the money their family is spending to support them. That appears to be the case in our post-election poll: more than half of young people report a household income of over $100,000 even as nearly half say they struggle to make ends meet.

Notably, despite their reported struggles, most young people had high hopes about their financial prospects. Strong majorities of youth said they thought it was somewhat or very likely that they would find a steady job (84%), earn enough money to start a family (70%), and be better off than their parents (61%). This suggests that, when young people focus on economic issues during elections, it is because they believe that their situations can improve and expect action from political leaders to make that happen.

Financial Struggles Linked to Voting

Young people who said they are struggling financially were much more likely to prioritize economic issues in the 2024 election. Almost three-quarters of those struggling financially (72%), selected cost of living as a top-three issue, compared to 64% of young people overall. The second most popular issue for this group, selected by 33% of participants, was jobs and unemployment, compared to merely 21% of financially stable young people and 8% of wealthy youth. Their third top issue was healthcare, selected by 31% of struggling youth, again above their peers who are stable (25%) or wealthy (23%). 

Both concern for economic issues and struggling financially were associated with a stronger preference for President Trump in vote choice. Both in exit polls and in our survey, young people who prioritized concern for economic issues showed strong support of President Trump in vote choice. Young people who voted for President Trump were over twice as likely to select jobs and unemployment as a top issue, and 78% ranked cost of living and inflation as a top issue, compared to 51% of Harris supporters. Given the connection between financial challenges and preference for economic issues, it’s not surprising that young people who were struggling financially were more likely to support Trump than Harris (44% vs 33%).

However, young people struggling financially were also more likely to not vote. Among young people who did not vote, 62% of them were struggling financially, while that group made up 38% of voters. Only about a third (35%) of nonvoters were financially stable, compared to 60% of those who did vote. 

This gap in election participation among those who are financially struggling tracks with our research on youth barriers to voting. Our past analyses suggest that people who missed registration deadlines or ran out of time to register were twice as likely to be struggling financially. Being too busy or having a conflicting work schedule are commonly cited barriers to voting, a challenge that is likely heightened for young people struggling to make ends meet. 

With high concern about the economic issues that likely are shaping their financial situation, gaps in voting by socioeconomic status may be perpetuating the financial conditions that are feeding young people’s engagement. Without the time, information, or resources to participate in elections, young people can’t vote for policies that would support them financially, which may create a self-perpetuating cycle of socioeconomic stagnation. 

Other Forms of Engagement Are Also Linked to Finances

Voting isn’t the only type of engagement that exposes gaps between those who are struggling financially and those who are not. Across almost all of the 17 forms of civic action we measured, struggling young people were less active than youth who are financially comfortable. For instance, 33% percent of struggling youth have volunteered for a local organization, compared to half of young people in a stronger financial situation. Even the activity that young people are most likely to participate in, talking to friends about issues and elections, saw significant differences: 58% of youth who sometimes or often struggle financially did this, compared to about 72% of youth who are financially stable. 

These differences are likely linked to other inequities, such as young people’s access to resources and support that could help them participate. One example is connection to community, which our research has shown supports civic participation and voting. Fifty-five percent of struggling young people never or rarely interact with their community in person, and only 14% do so often or very often. While still a significant portion, only 45% of youth who are financially stable never or rarely have this kind of interaction.

Young people who are struggling financially also appear to trail behind their stable peers in some of the mindsets that support civic life. Their sense of internal efficacy is lower. They are 12 points less likely to agree that they are well-qualified to vote, 15 points less likely to say they have a good understanding of political issues, 11 points less likely to say they feel confident in their ability to participate in political activities, and 10 points less likely to say they can make a difference in their community than their peers who are financially stable. Self-efficacy is often linked to higher rates of participation, and participation can also breed greater self-efficacy and confidence, creating a challenging loop of nonparticipation and low confidence for those with limited access to civic resources. 

We also saw notable trends in how young people lacking financial stability view our democracy and elections. Young people who are struggling financially are less likely to agree that “it is important to me that leaders are chosen through free and fair elections, even if the candidate that I support loses,” with 76% of them agreeing compared to 86% of financially stable young people. And their confidence and trust in American elections today (36% agree) is far lower than their stable peers (57% agree). Across many of our questions about their views on democracy, young people who were struggling financially also responded “neither agree nor disagree” in higher numbers. This indifference may stem from a variety of reasons, like lower access and exposure to civic learning and less time and resources to pay attention to news and information about elections. 

Feeling Supported Helps Struggling Young People Vote

However, not all young people who are struggling financially are completely disengaged. When we look at the young people who are struggling financially but still voted in 2024, they have vastly different experiences across many of the questions we’ve examined so far. In general, they have much higher access to many of the resources that we know support civic participation and voting. 

For instance, there are vast differences in exposure to civic information between those who are struggling and voted in 2024 and those who did not. Half of struggling young people (51%) who voted saw a lot of information about how, when and where to register to vote ahead of the 2024 election, compared to just 18% of those who did not vote. In comparison, half of those who did not vote said they saw “not much” or “none”. Access and exposure to civic information is a vital part of preparing a young person to vote and helping them feel more qualified. In fact, 80% of struggling youth who voted said they felt qualified to vote, compared to 45% of those who did not.

Young people who were struggling financially but voted also reported having greater levels of support in their community, with 43% agreeing that if they want to make a difference in their community, they can get the support they need. Among those who did not vote, only 29% agreed. Not only are young people who aren’t voting not finding support in their community, but they also are less likely to be engaging with their community at all. Thirty-one percent of struggling non-voters said they never interact with their community in-person, compared to 18% of those who did vote. Connections to community, though lacking across all young people, are an important asset for youth civic development and learning.

Digging further into the data suggests that, when young people who are struggling financially get access to support for civic participation, they are more likely to vote. This is not a panacea or a comprehensive solution; improving young people’s financial situation and addressing the marginalization of struggling youth will require structural economic and political reforms that allow all young people to thrive both financially and civically. However, in the absence of immediate sweeping changes to lift young people out of financial hardship, our research suggests that continuing to support struggling youth with civic resources can help to empower and engage them. This requires exposing young people to information about politics and elections, connecting them with their communities, and working to build their political self-efficacy in order to counteract some of the effects of financial wellbeing.