Workers install roofing materials on a home under construction in the Lilac Ridge community by Lennar Homes on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Vacaville, California, U.S.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | getty images
A CNBC survey found that the cost of housing is the top political issue among American voters between the ages of 18 and 34 – ranking higher than the cost of food or protecting democracy.
cnbc Pan American Economic Survey The survey, which surveyed 1,000 registered voters nationwide for the second quarter of 2026, found that housing costs are a major issue, particularly among younger voters, whom both parties are expecting to turn out in the 2026 midterm elections.
He said, “It was my argument and that of some others that the Democrats made a huge mistake by not talking more about health care in 2024. This is an issue where the Democrats have long had an advantage in polling.” jay campbellThe Democratic pollster for the survey, a partner at Hart Research.
“I think housing could be the healthcare of 2024, especially as Democrats need to turn out young people who are anti-Trump and pro-democracy,” Campbell said.
According to survey participants, who were interviewed between July 8 and 12, the cost of housing and health care was tied for the fourth most important issue facing the country at the moment, behind the cost of food and groceries, protecting democracy, and immigration and border security. After the price of food and groceries it was the most important issue for male respondents aged 18 to 49 and the second most important issue for respondents of all genders between 35 to 49 years.
Housing concerns are heightened by factors including rising mortgage costs due to income-related expenses and rising insurance and property taxes. A June report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that forty-nine percent of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The report found that of those 22.7 million households, 12.1 million pay more than half of their income for housing.
The importance of housing costs is somewhat divided along partisan lines. Self-proclaimed Democrats in the survey said it was the third most important issue, behind only the cost of food and protecting democracy. Independents also gave the cost of food and democracy the highest priority, followed by immigration and border security and the cost of housing in fourth place.
Meanwhile, Republicans list the issue low on their top priorities, instead focusing on immigration, the cost of food and Iran.
affordability selection
Affordability and cost of living have been a topic of discussion in the mid-term, and both parties have tried to swing the housing issue in their favor.
A bipartisan bill aimed at increasing housing supply, lowering the cost of renting or buying homes and limiting the role of private equity in the housing market passed out of Congress in June with overwhelming support.
Its passage could have given victory to Republicans, who control both houses of Congress and the White House. But President Donald Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony on such short notice that it had already been set up at the Capitol and then refused to sign the bill, which he called “big yawn“
The bill became law earlier this month even without Trump’s blessing on technical grounds.
The episode is the latest example of Trump and Republicans failing to prioritize the cost of living, Democrats said, as the president returned to the topics of the Iran war and passing a national voter ID law.
are democrats widely projected While the path to winning back the House is more difficult, the path to a majority in the Senate is difficult. And according to a CNBC survey, they have an advantage in terms of housing.
38% of those surveyed said Democrats would do a better job on housing, while 32% agreed with Republicans. Among respondents who ranked housing costs as the top two issues, 53% said Democrats would do a better job than Republicans.
The frustration over housing costs tracks with a broader trend of consumer anger amid inflation and the war with Iran. Sixty percent of those surveyed said they disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, 63% disapproved of his handling of the situation with Iran, and 68% disapproved of the administration’s work on inflation and cost of living.
Asked who they would prefer to control Congress after the midterms, respondents gave Democrats a slight edge – 49% to 45% – over Republicans. The margin of error in the survey is 3.1%.
“Americans are struggling with rising rents, unaffordable home prices, and expensive mortgage rates — all happening under Republican rule,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Wyatt Shelton said in a statement. “Voters blame Republicans for their broken promises to lower housing costs, and Trump’s refusal to address this affordability crisis has made vulnerable Republicans look like incompetent puppets unable to act on pocketbook issues.”
The perception that “Republicans don’t care about this issue” has given Democrats an opportunity, Shelton said.
But Republicans are unwilling to back down on the issue, noting that while Trump avoided signing the bill, he also didn’t veto it, as he could have.
“Democrats have spent years fueling the housing crisis with their failed policies. Republicans have taken real action to build more homes, lower costs, and help more families achieve the American dream,” Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.
— CNBC’s Diana Olick Contributed to this report.