MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds inflation and the cost of living is rated the most important issue by 35% of the public. This has been the top issue for the public in each Marquette poll this year.
The national economy is the next highest rated, with 15% saying it is the most important issue. The war with Iran is chosen by 10%, a decline from April, when 24% said it was the most important issue. Medicare and Social Security is tied for fourth place with the proposed SAVE America Act dealing with voting procedures, at 9% each. A three-way tie then follows, at 5% each, among health care, immigration and border security, and affordability of housing; the rating of immigration and border security has declined from 14% in January. Rounding out the list, crime is most important to 2% and abortion policy to 1% of adults.
The full list, for each poll this year, is shown in Table 1. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages.)
Table 1: Most important issue
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Among adults
| Issue | ||||
| July | May | April | January | |
| Inflation and the cost of living | 35 | 37 | 30 | 38 |
| The economy | 15 | 19 | 15 | 17 |
| The war between Iran, Israel and the United States | 10 | 16 | 24 | NA |
| Medicare & Social Security | 9 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
| The proposed SAVE America Act | 9 | NA | NA | NA |
| Health care | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| Immigration and border security | 5 | 6 | 7 | 14 |
| Affordability of housing | 5 | NA | NA | NA |
| Crime | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Abortion policy | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| The size of the federal deficit | NA | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| The war between Russia and Ukraine | NA | NA | NA | 1 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: July 22-29, 2026 | ||||
| Question: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now? | ||||
The survey was conducted July 22-29, 2026, interviewing 1,076 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage points. For registered voters, the sample size is 886, with a margin of error of +/-3.5. For likely voters, the sample size is 572, with a margin of error of +/-4.4 percentage points.
The importance of economic issues is apparent when considering what issue people consider their second-most important issue. Once more, inflation and the cost of living, and the economy, top the list of second-most important issues, with the Iran war remaining ranked third on the list. Concern for health care moves up to 11% as the second-greatest concern. Other issues remain in single digits, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Most important and second-most important issue
Among adults
| Issue | ||
| Most important | 2nd most important | |
| Inflation and the cost of living | 35 | 21 |
| The economy | 15 | 18 |
| The war between Iran, Israel and the United States | 10 | 14 |
| Medicare & Social Security | 9 | 8 |
| The proposed SAVE America Act | 9 | 4 |
| Health care | 5 | 11 |
| Immigration and border security | 5 | 8 |
| Affordability of housing | 5 | 8 |
| Crime | 2 | 3 |
| Abortion policy | 1 | 3 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, July 22-29, 2026 | ||
| Question: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now? | ||
| Question: And which is the second-most important issue to you right now? | ||
Changes in multiple measures of economic circumstances since January explain why the cost of living and concern over the economy continue to top the list of most important concerns. Most of these measures also show slight improvements from May to July, although on all measures circumstances are worse than they were in January. An exception to small recent improvement is family financial situation, which worsened from May to July.
Increases in the price of groceries and gasoline are important elements affecting the cost of living, with perceived prices rising over the past six months. Gasoline prices have been especially volatile since the start of the Iran war. In January, prior to the start of the war, 50% said gas prices had gone down either a lot or a little, and only 7% said they had gone up a lot. This changed dramatically in April, with 75% saying gas prices had gone up a lot, and only 2% thinking they had gone down. Perception of rising gas prices peaked in May, with 80% saying they were up a lot. In July, a smaller percentage of people (57%) said prices were up a lot over the last six months, with 11% saying the prices were stable and 8% saying prices had declined. These perceptions track with average prices reported by AAA, which show prices declining from May through early July, though with a new surge in prices as this survey was commencing interviews.
Perception of grocery prices has not been as volatile as for gasoline, but in July, 48% say grocery prices are up a lot over the last 6 months, with 31% saying they are up a little, 15% saying they are stable and 6% thinking they have gone down.
In total on these cost-of-living measures, 81% say the price at the pump is up a little or a lot, and 79% say the price of groceries at the checkout line is up a little or a lot. The perceptions of prices are shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Change in price of gasoline and groceries
Among adults
| Poll dates | Price change | ||||
| Gone down a lot | Gone down a little | Stayed about the same | Gone up a little | Gone up a lot | |
| Gasoline | |||||
| 7/22-29/26 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 57 |
| 5/20-26/26 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 80 |
| 4/8-16/26 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 75 |
| 1/21-28/26 | 14 | 36 | 29 | 14 | 7 |
| Groceries | |||||
| 7/22-29/26 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 31 | 48 |
| 5/20-26/26 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 32 | 53 |
| 4/8-16/26 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 32 | 50 |
| 1/21-28/26 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 30 | 40 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: July 22-29, 2026 | |||||
| Question: How has the price you pay for gasoline changed over the last six months? | |||||
| Question: How has the price you pay for groceries changed over the last six months? | |||||
The public has pessimistic expectations of inflation over the next 12 months, with 69% saying inflation will increase, 19% saying it will remain the same, and 13% expecting a decline. Over the course of 2026, the percentage expecting an increase in inflation rose from January through May, with a slight reduction in July, as shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Outlook for inflation in next 12 months
Among adults
| Poll dates | Change in inflation | ||
| Increase | Stay about the same | Decrease | |
| 7/22-29/26 | 69 | 19 | 13 |
| 5/20-26/26 | 71 | 16 | 13 |
| 4/8-16/26 | 70 | 18 | 13 |
| 1/21-28/26 | 61 | 19 | 19 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: July 22-29, 2026 | |||
| Question: Over the next 12 months do you think inflation and the cost of living will increase, decrease or stay about the same? | |||
The percentage saying they are better off than a year ago has declined from 28% in January to 19% in July, with those saying their circumstances are about the same as a year ago rising from 37% to 44%. Those saying they are worse off show a small increase from 34% to 37%. This measure of well-being is shown in Table 5.
Table 5: Better or worse off than a year ago
Among adults
| Poll dates | Better or worse | ||
| Better | About the same | Worse | |
| 7/22-29/26 | 19 | 44 | 37 |
| 5/20-26/26 | 19 | 39 | 41 |
| 4/8-16/26 | 20 | 42 | 38 |
| 1/21-28/26 | 28 | 37 | 34 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: July 22-29, 2026 | |||
| Question: Would you say you personally are better off, about the same, or worse off than you were a year ago? | |||
People’s description of their family’s financial situation took a negative turn in July, with the percent saying they are living comfortably declining 10 percentage points from 43% in June to 33% in late July. The total is down 7 percentage points since January. Those saying they are struggling also increased to 21% in July, up 6 points from both June and January. Those just getting by has remained relatively stable over Marquette Law School Poll surveys this year, with 46% just getting by in July. These trends are shown in Table 6.
Table 6: Family financial situation
Among adults
| Poll dates | Financial situation | ||
| Living comfortably | Just getting by | Struggling | |
| 7/22-29/26 | 33 | 46 | 21 |
| 6/9-15/26 | 43 | 42 | 15 |
| 5/20-26/26 | 36 | 45 | 18 |
| 4/8-16/26 | 35 | 46 | 19 |
| 1/21-28/26 | 40 | ||
