U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are increasingly divided along income lines, as new polling shows steep declines among lower-income Americans as support from the nation’s wealthiest voters continues to grow.
Trump made significant gains with low-income voters, a historically Democratic-leaning group, in the 2024 election. Exit polling from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research shows that in the 2020 election, Trump struggled with lower-income voters, winning just 44 percent of those earning under $50,000 a year compared with 55 percent for ex-President Joe Biden. By 2024, however, he had managed to close much of that gap, taking around 50 percent of lower-income voters.
Yet new polling suggests that those gains may now be reversing. According to new YouGov/Economist polling conducted from October 4 to October 6, Trump’s approval rating among the lowest-income voters has fallen sharply in recent weeks. In September, 40 percent of voters earning under $50,000 a year approved of his performance while 55 percent disapproved—a net rating of -15. By October, approval had dropped to 35 percent and disapproval had risen to 59 percent, widening his deficit to -24 points.
At the same time, Trump’s standing has improved among the highest-income Americans. Among those earning more than $100,000, his approval rating rose from 43 percent in September to 47 percent in October, while disapproval fell from 56 percent to 51 percent—cutting his deficit from -13 points to -4 points.
While wealthier voters have long been a core part of the Republican base, drawn to the party’s promises of tax cuts and deregulation, Trump made much smaller gains with the richest Americans in 2024. In 2020, Trump’s backing among voters earning more than $100,000 was below 50 percent, but by 2024, he had expanded that share to around 51-52 percent.
Economic Strain Drives Low-Income Discontent
The results of the poll come as the broader U.S. economy is also showing signs of strain. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy rebounded at a 3.8 percent annualized rate in the second quarter of 2025 after contracting earlier in the year. However, forecasts from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia suggest full-year growth will be much weaker, around 1.7 percent. The labor market, once a point of strength, is softening: Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in September, unemployment has climbed to 4.3 percent and job openings remain stagnant.
Meanwhile, U.S. inflation rose in August at the fastest pace since the beginning of the year. Consumer prices increased 2.9 percent in the year to August, up from 2.7 percent the previous month, according to the U.S. Labor Department, as the cost of cars, household furnishings and grocery staples like tomatoes and beef all rose.
And polling suggests that the shift away from Trump by low-income voters is driven largely by economic pressure, uncertainty and a sense that the president has neglected their concerns. According to YouGov/Economist polling, just 16 percent of low-income voters now rate the economy as good, down from 24 percent a month ago. Only 11 percent say the economy is improving, while 58 percent say it is getting worse—up from 56 percent in September.
Economic pessimism extends to personal finances: Just 15 percent of low-income voters say they are better off than a year ago, compared with 43 percent who say they are worse off. Only 20 percent expect to be better off a year from now, while 44 percent expect their pay to increase over the next 12 months.
Thomas Gift, associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek: “Low-income voters are more vulnerable to changes in inflation, cost of living, wages, and job security. Given weak job numbers of late, many perceive that they are worse off (or expect to be worse off) under the Trump economy, which can weaken support.”
William Hall, Webster University adjunct professor, echoed that view, telling Newsweek that Trump’s falling approval, especially among low-income voters, reflects “a seemingly total lack of interest or attention being directed toward the needs or requirements” of that group. He argued that Trump’s focus “has been and continues to be … almost solely” on the wealthy and his MAGA base, with “no demonstrable creditable evidence” of efforts to address concerns of low-income Americans. As a result, Hall said, it is “not too difficult to understand” why disapproval is rising—a trend he warned will be “an extremely difficult challenging task” for Trump to reverse with the 2026 midterms approaching.
Wealthier Americans See the Economy Differently
Wealthier voters, by contrast, remain far more upbeat. Among those earning over $100,000, 38 percent say it’s a good time to invest in the stock market, and 59 percent expect their pay to increase in the coming year. Only 20 percent of high-income voters say they are worse off than a year ago, compared with 43 percent among low earners, and 37 percent expect to be better off in the year ahead.
The poll also showed that nearly four in five high-income voters (79 percent) own their homes, compared with just 36 percent of low-income voters—a key divide in wealth and financial security. Among wealthier Americans, 38 percent rate the economy as good, up from 32 percent a month earlier, and 32 percent say the economy is getting better, roughly stable from last month.
Peter Loge, professor of political communication at George Washington University, told Newsweek: “Those at the top of the income scale have more of their income tied to the markets. The markets are up, those who benefit the most therefore are happiest with the economy. They aren’t thrilled, but they are happier than those whose rent doesn’t depend on the stock market.”
The U.S. stock market has remained resilient under Trump’s second term, continuing an extended bull run that has lasted nearly three years. The S&P 500 has repeatedly set record highs in 2025, driven largely by investor optimism in sectors like artificial intelligence and technology, despite periods of economic volatility. However, the rally has not been without turbulence. In April, markets briefly plunged more than 10 percent after Trump announced sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, sparking fears of a global trade slowdown. The crash was short-lived, and equities later rebounded as investors anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts and renewed fiscal stimulus.
Much of the market’s strength has benefited wealthier Americans, whose incomes are more closely tied to stock performance. Trump’s second-term policies have reinforced that trend. In 2025, his administration raised the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000—a move that disproportionately benefits upper-income households in high-tax states like California and New York. Analysis from the Center for American Progress found that under Trump’s fiscal policies, the top 1 percent of earners stand to see significant income gains, while average after-tax income for middle- and lower-income households is expected to decline.
Loge added: “Those struggling the most financially are among those with the lowest views of the president. The un- and underemployment rate is about 8 percent, meaning nearly one in ten Americans is either not working or not working enough. Those are the people mostly likely to be making less than $50,000 a year.”
Shutdown Fallout Hits Low Earners Hardest
The ongoing government shutdown—now stretching into its second week—is deepening this divide. The federal government shuttered last week after Congress failed to break a funding deadlock, largely over whether to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Forty-six percent of low-income voters say they have been personally affected, compared with 34 percent of high-income voters. Analysts estimate the shutdown is shaving billions off the gross domestic product each week and has left around 803,000 federal workers furloughed or working without pay—many of them lower-wage employees.
Approval of Trump’s handling of the shutdown follows the same pattern: Just 28 percent of low-income voters approve, compared with 44 percent among high earners.
Loge said economic anxiety is increasingly reflected in polling: “A lot of Americans are feeling anxious about the economy. They are unsure what impact tariffs will have, the economic impact of the government shutdown will start rippling across the economy soon, and most people see the gap between the richest Americans and everyone else growing wider. That anxiety is reflected in the polling.”
He added: “People mostly want the economy to work and want to believe they can have a better future if they work hard and play by the rules. A lot of people think things aren’t working, that the economy is rigged against them, and that hard work no longer pays the bills. Those people blame the politicians in charge for the economy, Republicans are in charge, so voters are blaming Republicans.”