Why 7 out of 10 people think they'll be better off financially next year

Published Thu, Feb 14 201910:11 AM ESTUpdated Wed, Feb 20 20199:25 AM EST

Key Points

Half of the respondents in a recent Gallup poll say they are in better financial shape now than they were a year ago.
This is the first time since 2007 that at least half of the public has reported a generally positive state of current finances.

Tara Moore | Getty Images

More people are feeling optimistic about their own finances, according to Gallup.

In a recent poll, nearly 7 out of 10 participants said they expected to be "better off" financially by this time next year. The company surveyed 1,017 U.S. adults by phone in January.

This level of optimism hasn't been seen in 16 years, according to Gallup. Half of respondents say they are in better financial shape than a year ago.

This is the first time since 2007 that at least half of the public has reported a generally positive state of current finances, according to the analytics company.

Lydia Saad, director of U.S. Social Research for Gallup, said Americans' financial confidence follows national economic conditions — good GDP growth, and low unemployment and inflation.

All of the major economic cues are telling Americans that the economy is fairly healthy, or at least not facing imminent problems.
Lydia Saad
director of U.S. Social Research for Gallup

"The stock market could be a factor for some percentage of the those Americans who are invested in the market (a little over half the public)," Saad said in an email.

The relatively positive state of things likely is driving that confidence, she said.

Only 26 percent of Americans reported being "worse off" this year than in the past year.

Gallup

Gallup did see some differences depending on political affiliation.

Democrats were more likely, at 37 percent, to say they were worse off financially this year. In comparison, 32 percent of them said they were better off.

"But this is less pessimistic than we've seen the opposing party in prior years when economic conditions were poor," Saad said.

Republicans were more optimistic, with 68 percent saying they feel better off. Only 10 percent of Republicans said they were worse off financially this year.

"The same factors cited above — low unemployment, reasonable economic growth, moderate gas prices, an improving stock market — would explain this for both parties," Saad said. "The major economic cues are telling Americans that the economy is fairly healthy, or at least not facing imminent problems."