Poll: Housing ranks high on financial woes in U.S.
By: Andra Riqier
USA Today
..... Cameron Toroni, a 24-year-old Uber driver in Chicago, wonders if he'll ever be able to afford what his parents and grandparents had.
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The older generation of his family own their homes, he said, "but they purchased then during times when it was actually affordable."
..... Toroni completed one year of collage, but dropped out when everything went Online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and isn't sure what he wants to do next. Driving full-time for Uber, at weird hours, he's making about minimum wage, he reckons. Meanwhile, rent costs $2,000 a month for a midrange, not very fancy apartment.
..... "One of the big questions that I still don't have the answer to is how (housing) became so expensive in relation to wages and incomes that we get from normal jobs," Toroni said. "I feel like that's the biggest disconnect that I haven't even been able to figure out."
..... Toroni is hardly alone. The rent is too high - but so is the mortgage, the utility bill, the property taxes and the homeowners insurance. The housing affordability crisis, for many Americans, feels like a stranglehold.
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A Gallup poll released April 28 [2026] grabbed headlines when it revealed that 55% of respondents said their financial situations were getting worse - an all-time high.
..... "Affordability continues to be the main financial challenge for U.S. households, with concerns about various costs far outpacing all other financial worries," Gallup said in a report accompanying the release.
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Among the things Americans struggle to afford, housing is tied with energy for second place. More than one-third of respondents told Gallup that they are worried they may not be able to pay their rent, mortgage or other housing costs.
..... While the cost of shelter has long been identified as a challenge, the recent surge in ancillary housing costs isn't helping. As of 2024, property taxes had risen 15% over the preceding five years, according to data from analytics provider Cotality.
..... In a recent interview, housing counselor Katelyn Gravell told USA Today she fields calls constantly from people - usually the elderly and those on fixed incomes - who can't pay their housing costs.
..... Thee are few options for such homeowners, Gravell said. During just one recent week, she referred three people to food pantries.
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Housing costs aren't rising in a vacuum, Gravell said. So too are "food and transpiration and everything to survive." Meanwhile, she said, "I feel like our support networks are decreasing."
..... That sentiment rings true for Toroni, who can't figure out why there isn't more urgency to cerate housing that people can afford. "we've advanced technological for decades, right? Like on paper, we should be able to do more with less," eh said, "but it feels like we're doing less with more nowadays."