Very Concerned About Gas and energy prices · Democrats (Pew)

## What this measures

The share of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who say they are very concerned about gas and energy prices in the country today. Pew asks: "How concerned, if at all, are you personally about each of the following economic issues in the country today?" The item reads "The price of gasoline and energy." Answers are very, somewhat, not too or not at all concerned; this series is "very concerned" only.

## Why it matters

What people worry about shapes how they spend, how they vote and what they expect of employers and businesses. Worry about a price that runs ahead of the price itself is a sign that pressure on household budgets is being felt, not just measured.

## How to read it

Higher means more of the group is very concerned. Read it beside the measured series it describes (prices, rents, payrolls, stock indices): the gap between worry and the data is often the story. Concern within each party moves with which party holds the White House: the party out of power tends to report more concern about most economic issues.

## What it does not say

It is a feeling, not a measurement of prices or jobs, and it says nothing about why people are concerned. Pew asks irregularly, a few times a year, so the line moves in steps and can miss short swings. Pew first asked this item in October 2022. In June–July 2022 it asked about "rising prices for gasoline and energy" (75% very concerned); Pew shows that reading only as a trend for comparison, so it is left out here. Pew did not ask the item in spring 2023 or late summer 2024. Party groups include independents who lean toward the party; in the latest wave Pew interviewed about 2,100 Republicans and 2,700 Democrats (half that for items asked of half the sample), so changes of a few points are within the margin of error.

## Source

Pew Research Center, American Trends Panel: a probability-based online panel of U.S. adults (about 5,000 interviewed in the latest wave). Values are Pew's published figures, copied from the report's chart data and checked against its topline. Each reading is dated at the last day of fieldwork. Citation: "Cost Concerns Dominate as Public's Economic Ratings Turn More Negative." Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2026) https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/10/08/cost-concerns-dominate-as-publics-economic-ratings-turn-more-negative/