Two-thirds say rising gas prices have affected their household finances
Washington, D.C., May 11, 2026 – A new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted May 8-11 finds that 64% of Americans say that recent increases in gas prices have affected their household’s financial situation, with a large majority (83%) expecting gas prices to continue to rise in the next month.
With gas prices approaching all-time highs, 86% of Americans say the conflict with Iran bears a great deal or fair amount of responsibility for the recent rise in prices. Three-quarters say the Trump administration is responsible, while 73% say the same about oil and gas companies.
When it comes to U.S. military action in Iran, 53% say the Trump administration does not have a clear strategy for achieving its goals in the conflict; fewer (23%) say the administration has a clear strategy in place. At this stage of the conflict, just 34% say the U.S. currently has the “advantage,” compared with 24% who say neither side has the advantage and 15% who say Iran has the advantage (26% are unsure). Despite these tepid assessments, just over half (55%) say it is likely that the U.S. ultimately succeeds in achieving its goals for Iran.
Separately, the poll finds that 39% of Americans report being very or somewhat enthusiastic about voting in the 2026 congressional elections. Democrats (55%) are slightly more likely than Republicans (47%) to report being excited to vote.
About the Study
This Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted May 8-11, 2026, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,254 general population adults aged 18 or older.
The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, household income, 2024 vote choice and political party identification. Political party identification benchmarks are from the 2025 NPORS annual survey, with a midyear adjustment estimated across aggregated KnowledgePanel surveys accounting for changes in panelists’ party identification over time. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2025 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- 2024 Vote Choice (Trump, Harris, Another candidate, Did not vote)
- Political Party ID (Democrat, Lean Democrat, Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Something else)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.04. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
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