Inflation rose to 7.9% by the end of February, making it the highest it's been since the 12-month period ending in January 1982, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index Summary.
So it should come as no surprise that 17% of Americans said in a recent poll by Gallup that inflation and the high cost of living is the country's "most important problem."
Back in February, only 10% of Americans said that inflation was the biggest issue in the country, as they have seen the prices of many essential products, such as food and gas, increase.
4% of people in the poll mentioned gas prices as the most important problem going on right now, compared to just 1% saying that last month. The national average for gas is currently down to $4.22 per gallon, but it was as low as $3.61 a month ago, according to AAA.
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Inflation has affected every American, and it's interesting to look at how people voted in the poll compared to how much money they bring home.
When asked if the problem worries them a "great deal," "fair amount," or "only a little/not at all," 58% of those earning $100,000 or more said inflation worried them a great deal, while 63% of people earning $40,000 or less agreed.
However, if you look at the political beliefs of people in the poll, 79% of Republicans were worried a great deal by inflation, but just 35% of Democrats were worried that much. 63% of people that identify as a political independent said they were worried a great deal by inflation.
"That reflects the ongoing phenomenon we’re seeing in polarization," Lydia Saad, director of U.S. social research at Gallup, told The New York Times.
"Democrats are just going to downplay problems, just like Republicans did when Trump was in office," Saad said.
Inflation was not the top concern of most people in the poll, but it was the highest that Gallup has recorded since 1985.
Overall, 22% of Americans in the poll said that the government and poor leadership was their No. 1 concern right now. Inflation was second, and the economy in general came in third at 11%.
Lesser, noneconomic concerns included the Russia-Ukraine conflict at just 9%, and unifying the country and racism at 5% each. Only 3% of Americans in the poll said that COVID-19 is their top concern right now, compared to 13% last month, and 20% in January when cases were rising due to the omicron variant.
"Inflation doesn't dominate Americans' perceptions of the most important problem facing the country today the way it did in the early 1980s, but it's more top-of-mind than it's been in over three decades and appears to be taking a toll on Americans' broader economic confidence," Saad wrote in the poll results.
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