Americans’ views on their personal financial situation have been climbing since 2018 and are now at or near record highs in Gallup’s trends. Nearly six in 10 Americans (59%) now say they are better off financially than they were a year ago, up from 50% last year.<\/p>\n
These data come from Gallup’s annual Mood of the Nation survey, conducted Jan. 2-15. The survey was completed after months of historically low levels of unemployment and as the Dow Jones Industrial Average neared the 30,000 mark for the first time.<\/p>\n
The current 59% of Americans who say they are better off financially than they were a year ago is essentially tied for the all-time high of 58% in January 1999. That was recorded during the dot-com boom, with conditions similar to the current state of the economy — a stock market rocketing to then-record highs and unemployment at multidecade lows — though GDP growth was higher at that time.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n The latest @GallupNews<\/a> poll is stunning. 74% of Americans feel they will be better off next year, just 12% say worse off. Most optimistic number since poll started in 1977. Includes 76% of Independents and 60% of Democrats.https:\/\/t.co\/Elo73uMmkl<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1bSSl87775<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 6, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n