Gallup: Economic Optimism Up Among Republicans and Independents

Reagan McCarthy | February 05, 2020 11:30 AM

After announcing record high approval ratings of President Trump and the GOP, the most recent Gallup poll also shows that Americans are experiencing record-high economic optimism.

The results show that 59 percent (6 in 10) of Americans say that they are in a better financial situation than the previous year, which is 50 percent higher than the same polling question from last year. From the Gallup results:

From 1998 to 2000, at least half of Americans rated their financial situation better than that of a year ago. However, in most surveys from 2001 to 2018, the percentage saying their personal finances were better off than the previous year was under 50% -- with a low of 23% in May 2009, during the Great Recession.

Similarly, 74 percent of those surveyed report that they will be better off financially in a year:

In addition to U.S. adults' highly positive report on their current financial situation, Americans are also expressing peak optimism about their future personal financial situation. About three in four U.S. adults (74%) predict they will be better off financially a year from now, the highest in Gallup's trend since 1977.

There is also a partisan aspect to this optimism. Republicans are much more satisfied with their current financial situation than that of last year, with 76 percent saying that they are better off now; only 43 percent of Democrats feel the same way. Republicans are also much more optimistic for their financial situation next year (83 percent) than Democrats (60 percent). Independents sided with Republicans in this poll: 58 percent believe that they are better off now than the previous year, and 76 percent believe that they will be in a better financial situation in a year.