Rising Cost of Living Seen as Biggest Obstacle to a Better Life, New Survey Finds

A survey of more than 30,000 U.S. adults conducted by the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in mid-April shows a clear consensus that the rising cost of living hampers the ability to achieve a better life. When asked what a better life would look like in three to five years, 60 % said greater financial security was essential. Respondents described financial security as being able to afford a home, rent, utilities, food, healthcare and still have enough left for savings, retirement or vacations.

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• 40 % of participants classified themselves as “getting by but financially vulnerable” or “struggling to meet basic needs.”

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• 90 % listed groceries and food costs as their top cost-of-living concern, followed by housing, transportation and healthcare.

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• A Harris poll cited in the article found 95 % of Americans believe the country is undergoing an affordability crisis.

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• 60 % held local, state and federal government responsible for helping people get ahead, yet only 30 % said government institutions had been helpful.

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• Friends, family and employers ranked higher than government as sources of support.

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• Respondents who felt strongly connected to their communities were more than twice as likely to feel in control of their lives and nearly four times as likely to describe their lives as having “momentum,” though only one-third reported such strong community ties.

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Rural respondents emphasized the need for better jobs and career pathways, while urban participants prioritized affordable housing and safety improvements. The gap between expectations of governmental assistance and perceived effectiveness underscores a growing sense of frustration among Americans whose wages have not kept pace with inflation, despite broader macro-economic indicators such as record-high stock markets and expanding AI investment.

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JP Julien, a partner at McKinsey involved in the research, warned that macroeconomic metrics like jobs reports, GDP growth and interest-rate trends do not capture everyday economic experiences for most people.

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• “While we spend a lot of time discussing some of these macroeconomic indicators – from the jobs report, to quarterly GDP growth, to what’s happening with interest rates – they alone can’t help us understand how people are actually experiencing the economy in their day-to-day lives,” — JP Julien, a partner at McKinsey involved in the research, during a news briefing

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