Most Americans say they are spending more on food and utilities and say tariffs hurt inflation, the economy and their own financial situation, according to a survey. ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos Poll conducted using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel.
As inflation rises, about 7 in 10 Americans say they are spending more money on food compared to last year and about 6 in 10 say they are spending more on utilities. Another about 4 in 10 say they are spending more on health care, housing and gas than they did last year.
Majorities of Democrats (89%), independents (73%) and Republicans (52%) say they are spending more money on groceries this year. More Democrats than independents or Republicans say they are spending more in all categories measured.
Women are also more likely than men to say they are spending more in each category this year than last.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the White House, Nov. 2, 2025, after taking off from Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on foreign countries in his second term as president, and on Wednesday the Supreme Court will hear his use of emergency powers to impose tariffs. Overall, 65% of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the tariffs, including 96% of Democrats, 72% of independents and 29% of Republicans.
More than 6 in 10 Americans say the U.S. imposition of tariffs hurts inflation in the United States, while about 6 in 10 say it also hurts the countries it imposes tariffs on and the U.S. economy. A 55% majority say the tariffs hurt their own family’s financial situation.
A customer shops at an HEB grocery store on February 12, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
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A plurality say tariffs hurt American manufacturing companies (45%) and people who find jobs in the United States (42%).
A much larger share of Democrats than independents or Republicans say tariffs hurt each of the groups measured, while majorities of independents say tariffs hurt inflation (68%), the U.S. economy (64%), the countries on which the U.S. imposes tariffs (62%), and their own family’s financial situation (59%). About half of independents say tariffs hurt U.S. manufacturing companies (49%) and a plurality 46% say they hurt U.S. job seekers.
Most Republicans say tariffs help U.S. companies that make goods (56%), and about half say they help the U.S. economy overall and job seekers (49% each).
A plurality of Republicans say tariffs have “no real impact” on their family’s financial situation (39%), while 46% say they hurt countries on which the U.S. imposes tariffs and 35% of Republicans say tariffs worsen inflation at home.
Methodology — This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® from October 24-28, 2025, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,725 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, including the design effect. The margins of error are greater for subgroups. The partisan splits are 28% Democrats, 31% Republicans and 41% independents or something else.
See more details about ABC News’ survey methodology here.
