Inflation fears are high for most Americans. But a new poll shows one
group is particularly worried
[January 22, 2026] By
TERRY TANG and LINLEY SANDERS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anxiety about costs and affordability is particularly
high among Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, even
at a moment when economic stress is widespread, according to a new poll.
About half of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults said they
wanted the government to prioritize addressing the high cost of living
and inflation, according to the survey from AAPI Data and The Associated
Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted in
early December. In comparison, a December AP-NORC poll found that about
one-third of U.S. adults overall rated inflation and financial worries
as the most pressing problems.
The findings indicate that this small but fast-growing group is not
convinced by President Donald Trump's attempts to tamp down worries
about inflation and defend his tariffs. Even when considering
partisanship, AAPI Democrats and Independents — and even AAPI
Republicans — are at least slightly more likely than those groups
overall to mention inflation and costs. Concern about costs has risen
among AAPI adults since last year, when about 4 in 10 AAPI adults said
they wanted the government to focus on this issue.
Like Americans overall, AAPI adults have also become more focused on
health care issues over the past year.
The poll is part of an ongoing project exploring the views of Asian
Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, whose views are
usually not highlighted in other surveys because of small sample sizes
and lack of linguistic representation.
Jayakumar Natarajan, a 56-year-old manager for a major tech company
living in the San Francisco Bay Area, is rethinking his goal of retiring
at 60 because of climbing costs in basic goods and health care. He can
afford to live the way he wants for now, but is considering delaying
retirement or moving outside the U.S., where prices are lower.
The cost of health care is very much on his mind. “I think it will
really make a big difference in the way I think about retirement
planning,” he said.
AAPI adults are worried about rising costs
Inflation and affordability loom large for AAPI adults, even compared to
other economic concerns, the survey found. About 2 in 10 AAPI adults
mentioned housing costs or jobs and unemployment as priorities for the
government to work on in the coming year, which was generally in line
with Americans overall.
Balancing financial obligations has become especially challenging for
people living in high-cost areas, where a steady salary may not cover a
growing family. Kevin Tu, 32, and his wife recently reached two
milestones — buying a new home outside of Seattle in Lynnwood,
Washington, and expecting their first child. The couple works full-time
and Tu also has a math tutoring business, but he's still nervous about
what will happen after the baby arrives.
“I’m trying to figure out how to balance possible part-time day care
with our mortgage, with cost of living,” said Tu, who is Taiwanese
American.
Black, Hispanic and AAPI adults were more apt than white adults to bring
up unemployment, jobs and housing costs as priorities, the surveys
found.
Part of what may explain AAPI adults' increasing worry about everyday
costs is the largest AAPI adult populations reside in states and major
metropolitan cities with higher costs of living and higher rent, such as
California and New York.
Also, while tariffs have impacted American consumers across the board,
they have a particularly strong effect on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders who prefer certain imported goods such as food and clothing.
Karthick Ramakrishnan, AAPI Data executive director and researcher at
the University of California, Berkeley, recalls how last year, some AAPI
shoppers were going to ethnic grocery stores and “stockpiling” ahead of
tariffs kicking in.
[to top of second column] |
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs after a meeting during
the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
 “When it comes to costs for Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders, it’s just not cost of general
market groceries but ethnic market groceries,” Ramakrishnan said.
“It's something visible to them and potentially causing anxiety and
worry.”
Health care is also a priority for AAPI adults
Many AAPI adults, 44%, also want the government to prioritize health
care in the coming year. That's not meaningfully different from
among U.S. adults overall, emphasizing Americans' renewed focus on
the issue after a year of health care cuts.
Srilasya Volam, a 25-year-old business consultant in Atlanta,
Georgia, said that some of her family members have embarked on “
medical tourism ” trips as a result of high U.S. health care costs,
a practice of traveling to other countries for more cost-effective
medical procedures.
“It’s cheaper for us to get a flight ticket and go to India and have
a medical procedure and come back than it is to have that done
here,” she said. “When I was younger, we would just go to India and
we’d be like, now that we’re here, let’s do everything: the dental
checkups, every checkup. It’s a lot more cost effective.”
The poll found that about 6 in 10 AAPI adults are “extremely” or
“very” concerned about their health care costs increasing in 2026,
which is roughly in line with U.S. adults overall.
Falling confidence in the government's ability to make progress
The survey found that AAPI adults are less confident in the
government's ability to make progress on the important issues facing
the country than they were just after the 2024 election.
About 7 in 10 AAPI adults say they are “not at all” or just
“slightly confident” that the government will make progress on key
issues, up from 60% at the end of 2024.
Dissatisfaction with the Trump administration may be a factor. And
while the economy is top of mind, other factors could be feeding the
fear that the government won't change things for the better this
year.
Ernie Roaza — a 66-year-old retired geologist in Tallahassee,
Florida — is a first generation immigrant to the U.S. from South
Korea, where he grew up under a dictatorship. He worries that Trump
is doing “everything that dictators do,” adding, “I’ve seen it
before. It’s almost laughable, but it’s scary at the same time.”
He remains optimistic that the country will get through it.
“This administration will make things worse,” Roaza said. “But in
every administration we’ve had, there are hills and valleys. We’re
in the valleys right now.”
___
Tang reported from Phoenix.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
