6 min read
The cost of living stress hanging over kitchen tables across the country now has hard numbers behind it, and for Black families those numbers confirm what daily life has been saying for a long time.
The 2026 Stress in America survey, released Thursday, found that 77 percent of adults named the cost of living as a significant source of stress, the highest share for any single concern in the survey.
Rent and mortgage payments, groceries, child care and transportation sit at the center of that worry, and the pressure reaches far beyond the monthly budget.
Major Takeaways
- 77 percent of adults say the cost of living is a significant source of stress, the top answer in the 2026 Stress in America survey.
- 82 percent of Black adults say they lack the income to live the life they want, and 47 percent cannot pay every bill in full in a typical month.
- Nearly half of adults have pulled back from social life under stress, and many now turn to AI for support.
- Psychologists warn that getting used to chronic stress is not the same as coping in a healthy way.
The survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll among 3,132 adults from July 29 through August 24, including 801 Black adults, and its Black sample carries a sampling precision of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
1. Money Worries Now Top the National Stress List
The economy in general stressed 74 percent of adults. The share naming the economy rose from 64 percent in 2023 to 73 percent in 2024, then held at 75 percent in 2025 and 74 percent this year.
Money itself was a significant source of stress for 71 percent of adults, up from 63 percent in 2023.
Health care added its own weight, with 60 percent of adults calling access and affordability a significant source of stress.
Concern about the future of the nation matched the economy at 74 percent, arriving less than two weeks before voters finish casting ballots in the midterm elections.
2. Black Families Carry the Heaviest Financial Load
Separate national survey data released this month shows why the national averages only tell part of the story.
In that survey, 82 percent of Black adults said they do not currently have enough income to lead the kind of life they want, compared with 52 percent of white adults and 60 percent of all adults.
Nearly half of Black adults, 47 percent, said they cannot pay some of their bills in full in a typical month, more than double the 20 percent share among white adults.
The cushion against a crisis is thinner as well. A full 72 percent of Black adults said they lack emergency savings that would cover three months of expenses, compared with 48 percent of white adults.
Only 34 percent of Black adults were able to save money for the future in the past year, compared with 50 percent of white adults, and 38 percent had trouble paying for medical care.
Those gaps help explain why a headline about stress reads differently in Black households, where the same prices meet smaller savings and less room for error.
3. Stress Is Pulling People Back From Community Life
Nearly three quarters of adults, 72 percent, agreed that stress is just something they have to live with, and the same share said bad news no longer shocks them the way it once did.
Another 68 percent said they have grown accustomed to living with uncertainty.
“Becoming accustomed to chronic stress is not the same as adapting to it in a healthy way,” said Arthur C. Evans Jr., the chief executive of the American Psychological Association, warning that chronic stress takes a serious toll on physical and psychological health.
The withdrawal is measurable. A full 47 percent of adults said they pulled back from at least one form of social participation in the past year because of stress, uncertainty or feeling overwhelmed.
More than a third disengaged from the wider world around them. A share of 28 percent avoided the news, and 21 percent stepped back from political or societal issues altogether.
Half of adults felt too emotionally drained to stay engaged with everything happening in the world. A share of 51 percent said they at least sometimes feel isolated from others, 49 percent felt left out, and 48 percent lacked companionship.
Yet 63 percent still believe that getting involved in their community, in social issues or in politics could make a meaningful difference in their future.
That belief is visible this week in the push around National Black Man Voter Day, where organizers are turning concern into rides, voting plans and turnout.
4. Many Are Now Confiding in AI Instead of People
Seven in ten adults said they intentionally used AI in 2026, up from 62 percent the year before.
Among those users, 65 percent used it to help make daily decisions and 63 percent used it to organize their thoughts.
Health questions followed close behind, with 62 percent seeking input on treatments, 60 percent using it while trying to diagnose their own symptoms, and 59 percent discussing their physical health.
The emotional turn is the striking part. A share of 49 percent of AI users have held conversations with AI as a friend, and 47 percent have used it in a role comparable to a mental health professional.
One in ten AI users said they rely on AI more than on friends and family for advice.
“Accessibility, however, should not be confused with expertise,” Evans said, adding that AI tools cannot replace the clinical judgment of a psychologist or the human connection that comes from family and friends.
5. Doing Everything Right and Still Falling Behind
That was the feeling of 59 percent of adults, who agreed they were doing everything right yet still falling behind.
More than half, 56 percent, said they have lowered their expectations for what they can achieve in life.
One in four adults put their futures on hold in the past year, and 28 percent said they have little or no control over their future, up from 23 percent in 2025.
Adults ages 18 to 45 reported delaying future plans at a rate of 34 percent, far above the 13 percent reported by adults ages 62 to 80.
Four in five adults named at least one obstacle standing between them and their goals. Economic challenges led the list at 53 percent, while two in five named a health barrier.
Still, 72 percent of adults said they feel at least some control over their future, a sign of resolve running alongside the strain.
That resolve is showing up at ballot boxes as well, as Louisiana Black voters fight to save the last Black district while early voting moves forward across the state.
“We cannot always control the uncertainty in our lives, but we can strengthen the resources people need to navigate it,” Evans said.
For Black families, the survey reads less like a surprise and more like a receipt, proof that the squeeze is real, shared widely, and worth naming out loud. Naming it is the first step. Support, connection and a vote are the next ones.
See all of our latest reporting in the News section at Urban City Podcast.
