Inflation is no new term to the average American: we hear about it 24/7, whether that is in regard to gas prices, egg prices, or the actions of whoever the current government administration is. It’s been omnipresent in our minds ever since 2021, and it seems to affect virtually everything in our lives. The current inflation rate is over 3%, and while this isn’t the highest inflation we’ve ever seen in the U.S., it certainly is not heading in the direction we all want.

Trendency has been tracking Americans’ concerns for five years now, and for this week’s installment, we have compiled data charting 2024 to the present, revealing some interesting insights into Americans’ ever-changing thinking on inflation. We ask Americans to rate their concerns on inflation from 0-100, with 0 being not concerned at all and 100 being very concerned. Overall, Americans have been living between an average of 75 to 79 over the last two and a half years, and we’re definitely seeing flash points of movement around specific time periods and events. The greatest recorded concern was during April and May 2025, right around when Trump announced “Liberation Day.” Coincidence? Probably not. In addition, as of the past month, there has been a noticeable increase in concern over inflation, and as to whether this is due to growing pressures at the grocery store or growing pressure in Iran (aka gas prices) or the official announcement of 3% inflation, the likely answer is probably a bit of all three.

These trends are present in the overall average and also in certain demographics, such as gender and age. Unsurprisingly, there were some noticeable differences in partisanship, which makes sense with how political the concept of inflation has become. Still, Americans, regardless of demographics, average in the 70s in regard to concern for inflation, showing inflation is an issue of great concern across all demographics.

Key Takeaways:

• 👶👵👦Gen X has heightened concern: Again, many of the trends present in the overall data are represented across the different generations, although there’s noticeably more variation within these trends. When Trump took office, Boomers had heightened concern for the longest period of time (about 3 months), compared to Gen Z, who had heightened concern for the shortest period of time (less than a month). The main discrepancy that can be seen in the data is that Gen X has consistently noticeable higher concern for inflation, and is the only generation to have zero overlap with any of the other generations. Gen X hovers around 76, on average, while the other generations typically stay around 71, never going above 74. We can also see that the recent upshot of concern due to the war in Iran has put all of the other generations at roughly the same mark, between 72-74, but Gen X stays separate from them at almost 77.
• 🚹🚺Gender has a noticeable effect: Men and women, for the most part, followed the same trends: there was a noticeable increase when Trump took office, and a much more recent increase since the war in Iran began. Despite this, however, women have remained consistently more concerned about inflation than men have. Women hover roughly around the 75 mark, on average, whereas men are found a few points lower, around 70.
• 🔴🔵💜 There’s a partisanship divide (shocking!): Once again, partisanship divides our country on another issue. Republicans led concern for inflation at around 80, right up until March/April of 2025, when they promptly switched places with Democrats, who up until then had been hovering around 68. This swap could basically be expected of Americans, as inflation is such a political issue that people are much more content when their preferred party controls the White House. Since Trump took office, Democrats have hovered around 76, whereas Republicans now sit lower at around 72. Independents have had the least amount of variation, averaging around the 70 mark and having decreased slightly since Trump took office. Still, all three have experienced an increase in concern in the past month, showing some events affect all Americans regardless of partisanship.