December 20, 2023
Outlook for 2024
Marist National Poll
American Pessimism Highest in Six Years… Americans Who Say Personal Finances Will Worsen Climbs
Nearly six in ten Americans, the highest since 2018, report that they are more pessimistic than optimistic about the coming year. While more than seven in ten Americans believe their personal family finances will either stay the same or get better in 2024, three in ten expect their personal finances will get worse. This marks the largest proportion of Americans in more than a decade who say their financial picture is bleak.
59% of Americans say they are more pessimistic than optimistic (40%) about the year ahead. Pessimism in the United States has steadily increased since this question was first asked in 2018.
While Democrats divide, nearly seven in ten Republicans (69%) and independents (67%) say they are more pessimistic about what’s ahead in 2024.
Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 (54%) are the most optimistic of all U.S. residents.
Although the plurality of Americans (38%) say they expect their personal family finances to stay the same in the coming year and 33% say they will get better, three in ten Americans (30%) believe their personal finances will worsen. The proportion who believes their financial picture will deteriorate is the highest in 14 years.
Republicans (48%) are more likely than any other group to expect their finances to get worse.
"The state of the economy is likely to be a major story of the 2024 campaign," says Lee M. Miringoff, Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. "Right now, President Biden needs to convince more Americans that his economic policies are working."