According to an exclusive Guardian poll, Americans are rethinking major life events, including marriage, having children, having children, and buying a home amid the opening months of President Trump’s opening economic unrest.
According to Harris’ polls, six in 10 Americans say the economy is affecting at least one of their main life goals, citing either affordability or lack of anxiety about the current economy.
While Donald Trump’s tariff policy has only been in place for a few weeks, the president has temporarily returned to some of his toughest policies, but the findings are indications that Trump’s economic agenda could have long-term impact.
The Trump administration says it wants to encourage Americans to have more babies, and says it is floating a $5,000 “baby bonus” for its new mother. But its economic policy appears to be a major stumbling block on its ambitions. Of those who originally planned to have children in 2025, the majority say the current economy has somehow influenced their plans.
The majority of surveyed responded that they wanted to make key financial decisions. 45% said they wanted to make a large purchase. For example, 42% said they wanted to buy a home, such as cars and home appliances.
But 75% of people who said they wanted to buy a home say the current economy has derailed them.
Buying a home has long been considered a benchmark for the American Dream, but it has become increasingly affordable and unavailable for many Americans.
Home prices have skyrocketed after buying a frenzy during the pandemic, when interest rates fell to zero, and have not fallen since. The mortgage rate has fallen slightly since its recent peak at around 7.5%, but the average 30-year mortgage rate in March was 6.7%. It was more than twice as much as four years ago.
Economic anxiety disproportionately affects the long-term goals of young Americans who are unlikely to already own a home. For example, the majority of Gen Z and Millennials Renters (68%) say they have a goal of buying a home compared to just 29% of older renters.
Much of the instability appears to be due to increased costs of living. Sixty-five percent of Americans believe their living expenses have been worse since the start of the year, with half saying it has made it even more difficult to buy living expenses.
The majority (78%) said they noticed a rise in grocery prices over the past few months, while 60% said they noticed that their monthly bills and daily necessities are becoming more expensive.
Almost half (48%) of Republicans say their cost of living has risen this year, but Republicans appear to be optimistic about the overall state of the economy, especially when Joe Biden was in the White House.
When respondents were asked last May if they thought the US was experiencing a recession, 67% of Republicans said they believed the country was in a recession. Almost a year later, the number fell to 40% of Republicans.
Meanwhile, 49% of Democrats believed the country was in a recession last May, while 59% now believe the US is in a recession. The US is not in a recession and not during the community pandemic from February to April 2020.
Perhaps most concerning for Trump is that only 33% of Republicans believe the US economy is getting worse, while 64% of independents believe it’s worsening and in line with Democrats (73%). More independences believed the economy was in May last year (53%) compared to this April (53%), but the switch in opinion is much smaller than Republicans.
Trump says his tariffs will “make America rich again,” but it seems that few Americans believe him.
Tariffs appeared on the list of what Americans consider most likely to hurt their families financially in 2025. A third (29%) say tariffs are the most harmful, including 39% of Democrats, 28% of independents and 21% of Republicans. Over 20% say government policies, including 24% of independents, are the most harmful.
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The survey was conducted online in the US, in a nationally representative sample of 2,102 adults in the US, based on the Harris polls from April 24-26, 2025.