Six months from election day, a new Peter G. Peterson Foundation survey shows a growing majority of Americans are concerned that the $39 trillion national debt is driving up their personal cost of living. At the same time, the U.S. Fiscal Confidence Index fell to a 22-month low at 42 in April (100 is neutral), reflecting voters’ desire for their leaders to address the country’s fiscal challenges.

The new national survey, jointly conducted by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and Republican firm North Star Opinion Research, finds:

• 92% of voters (including 94% of Democrats, 92% of independents and 89% of Republicans) are concerned that the national debt’s effect on inflation is increasing the cost of living, including prices for groceries, energy, housing, transportation, and other goods and services. That overall percentage is up two points.
• 88% of voters (including 92% of Democrats, 87% of independents and 85% of Republicans) are concerned that the national debt is contributing to higher borrowing costs, such as credit card interest, car loan rates, and mortgage rates, up from 86% overall last month.
• 94% say they are more likely to support a candidate with a plan to address the debt, including 93% of Democrats, 94% of independents, and 96% of Republicans.
• In addition, 74% of voters (including 65% of Democrats, 86% of independents and 75% of Republicans) say they would consider supporting a candidate from a political party they do not usually support, if that candidate had a clear plan to address the debt.
• 97% of voters (up two points) say candidates this year should clearly explain their plan to prevent an automatic 23% annual cut to Social Security benefits — if Congress does nothing to address Social Security’s deteriorating finances, these automatic cuts will occur in 2032, during the term of U.S. Senators elected this November.
• More than 7 in 10 voters want to hear more than they have heard over the past month about how candidates will tackle the debt and its impact on the cost of living.

“The rising national debt has effectively become a kitchen table issue for Americans because it contributes to rising costs across the economy, from grocery bills to car payments,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation. “Voters across party lines are looking for leadership and solutions on the debt, because they understand it’s a critical issue for the nation’s economy and their own personal finances. Fiscal confidence is the lowest it’s been in almost two years, but voters are ready to support candidates who have a plan to put our nation on a stronger, more sustainable path.”

April’s U.S. Fiscal Confidence Index shows widespread agreement that addressing the debt should be a top-three priority for the president and Congress (81% agree/15% disagree), including agreement among 75% of Democrats, 79% of independents and 87% of Republicans. In addition, a nearly two-year high of 56% of voters agree that the president and Congress should spend a lot more time addressing the debt (up from 52% in March).

The Fiscal Confidence Index measures public opinion about the national debt by asking six questions in three key areas:

• CONCERN: Level of concern and views about the direction of the national debt.
• PRIORITY: How high a priority addressing the debt should be for elected leaders.
• EXPECTATIONS: Expectations about whether the debt situation will get better or worse in the next few years.  

The survey results from these three areas are weighted equally and averaged to produce the Fiscal Confidence Index value. The Fiscal Confidence Index, like the Consumer Confidence Index, is indexed on a scale of 0 to 200, with a neutral midpoint of 100. A reading above 100 indicates positive sentiment. A reading below 100 indicates negative sentiment.

Fiscal Confidence Index Key Data Points: 

• The April Fiscal Confidence Index value is 42. (The March value was 43. The February value was 48.)
• The current Fiscal Confidence Index score for CONCERN about the debt is 37, indicating deep concern about the debt. The score for debt as a PRIORITY that leaders must address is 22, indicating that Americans want elected leaders to make addressing long-term debt a high priority. The score for EXPECTATIONS about progress on the debt is 67. The Fiscal Confidence Index is the average of these three sub-category scores.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation commissioned this poll by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and Republican firm North Star Opinion Research. The online poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters nationwide between April 20 and April 22, 2026. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

Detailed results can be found online at www.pgpf.org/FiscalConfidenceIndex.