By Will Katcher
masslive.com
(TNS)
Recent polling indicates Gen Z Americans are more likely than older adults to feel their finances improved from a year ago.
But the nation’s youngest adults are also less likely than older cohorts to approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy or inflation.
The findings come from a poll conducted by NBC News of nearly 20,000 American adults last month.
Twenty-seven percent of adults ages 18 to 29 said their finances are in better shape compared to a year ago, while 29% said they are worse off and 43% reported no change.
While the share of optimistic Gen Zers may seem low, it remained higher than all other age brackets surveyed by NBC. As age increased, Americans felt more dismayed by their financial outlook, the polling showed.
Among those polled between the ages of 30 and 44—roughly the millennial generation—24% of people said their financial situation was better today than a year ago.
That number dropped to 21% among the 45 to 64 age group. Just 18% of people over age 65 felt better off today than they did last year.
The poll had a margin of error of 2.2%.
Across all generations, a plurality of adults told NBC that inflation and the rising cost of living were the most important economic issues for them and their families.
Americans also broadly disapproved of Trump’s economic strategy—and no group more so than young Americans.
Just 30% of the members of Gen Z polled by NBC approved of how Trump handled inflation and the cost of living. The president’s approval rating on the issue sat at 38% for people aged 30 to 44, 45% for people aged 45 to 64, and 44% for those over 65.
Young adults were also mostly unified in opposing how some of Trump’s hardline immigration policies have affected college campuses. But the generation was somewhat split on the specifics of the issue.
Asked by NBC pollsters if they supported or opposed the Trump administration deporting students who had been critical of or protested Israel’s military action in Gaza, Gen Z revealed a significant partisan split and smaller gender divide.
Republicans in the age bracket were more likely than Democrats to support the deportations, 56% to 6%. Men were more likely than women, 30% to 18%.
Asked if they think efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion—or DEI—in workplaces or schools are helpful for the country, 85% of Gen Z women agreed, compared to 63% of their male peers.
Forty-one percent of Gen Z men agreed with the statement that “America would be stronger if more women held traditional gender roles in society, such as homemaking and raising children.”
Twenty-six percent of Gen Z women agreed.
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©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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Tags: baby boomers, economy, generation z, Payroll, personal finances
