Cost of Living Tops Midterm Priorities as Financial Security Splits by Age

Half of registered voters named cost of living their top congressional-vote issue, as household financial measures show younger and older adults facing different affordability pressures.

In polling conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 5, cost of living ranked first among Republicans (53%), Democrats (49%) and independents and others (54%). Democratic values and norms placed second overall at 25%, followed by immigration at 11%. The poll covered 4,506 U.S. adults; the margin of sampling error for the full sample was 1.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

In October 2025, 63% of adults ages 18 to 29 said they were doing okay financially or felt comfortable, compared with 83% of adults 60 and older. The gap had widened over the previous year, mainly as financial well-being declined among adults ages 18 to 24. These responses describe people’s assessments of their finances rather than directly measuring inflation or affordability.

For households headed by someone under 40, real median home prices reached $350,000 in 2024, up from $269,600 in 2019. Both figures are in 2024 dollars. Size-adjusted median income, scaled to a three-person household, rose from $92,700 to $100,900 over the same period. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.40% for the week of Oct. 15.

A separate measure shows a divide in family wealth. Between 2022 and 2025, inflation-adjusted median net worth fell 23% to $33,000 for families with a reference person younger than 35. For families whose reference person was 75 or older, it rose 37% to $504,900. The age categories compare different survey groups rather than tracking the same families over time; earlier coverage of the age-based wealth gap examined the same trend.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment in 2027. The estimated average monthly benefit for retired workers is $2,170 in January, up from $2,095 before the increase.

The poll captures stated priorities, not how people will vote or whether they will turn out. William Galston, senior fellow and chair of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said, “Affordability is the central issue in the forthcoming midterm elections. Nothing else is close.”