Inflation fears are high for most Americans. But a new poll shows one group is particularly worried

Economic concerns are particularly acute among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, according to a new poll that reveals heightened anxiety about inflation and affordability within these communities compared to the general U.S. population.

The survey, conducted in early December by AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that about half of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults want the government to prioritize addressing the high cost of living and inflation. This contrasts with only about one-third of the overall U.S. adult population citing these as their most pressing concerns.

The findings come at a challenging economic moment for President Donald Trump, whose efforts to alleviate inflation worries and defend his tariff policies appear to have gained little traction among the AAPI community. Even when accounting for political affiliation, AAPI Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all expressed greater concern about inflation and costs than their counterparts in the general population.

This rising economic anxiety represents a significant shift from last year, when approximately 40% of AAPI adults identified cost issues as their primary concern. The poll is part of an ongoing research initiative designed to capture the perspectives of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders—groups whose views are often underrepresented in surveys due to small sample sizes and language barriers.

For individuals like Jayakumar Natarajan, a 56-year-old tech company manager in the San Francisco Bay Area, these economic pressures have real-life implications. Natarajan is reconsidering his plan to retire at 60 due to increasing costs for basic goods and health care. “I think it will really make a big difference in the way I think about retirement planning,” he said, noting that he’s contemplating either delaying retirement or relocating outside the U.S. where living costs are lower.

The impact of inflation is especially pronounced for AAPI families in high-cost regions. Kevin Tu, a 32-year-old Taiwanese American who recently purchased a home near Seattle and is expecting his first child, expressed concerns about balancing these new financial obligations. “I’m trying to figure out how to balance possible part-time day care with our mortgage, with cost of living,” Tu explained.

Several factors may contribute to the heightened economic anxiety among AAPI communities. The largest AAPI populations are concentrated in states and metropolitan areas with higher living costs, such as California and New York. Additionally, tariffs have had a disproportionate effect on AAPI consumers who often purchase imported goods, including specialty food items from Asian countries.

“When it comes to costs for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, it’s just not cost of general market groceries but ethnic market groceries,” explained Karthick Ramakrishnan, AAPI Data executive director and researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. He noted that last year, some AAPI shoppers were “stockpiling” ahead of tariff implementation—a visible manifestation of their economic concerns.

Health care also ranks high among priorities for AAPI adults, with 44% wanting the government to focus on this issue in the coming year. This mirrors the renewed emphasis on health care among Americans broadly following a year of cuts to health services.

The high cost of medical care in the U.S. has led some AAPI families to seek alternatives. Srilasya Volam, a 25-year-old business consultant in Atlanta, described how her family has pursued “medical tourism” as a cost-saving measure. “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.

The survey also revealed declining confidence among AAPI adults in the government’s ability to address key issues. Approximately 70% expressed little to no confidence that progress would be made on important matters, up from 60% at the end of 2024. This erosion of faith may be partly attributed to dissatisfaction with the Trump administration.

Despite current challenges, some maintain a long-term perspective. Ernie Roaza, a 66-year-old retired geologist and first-generation immigrant from South Korea, sees parallels between current political trends and the dictatorship he experienced in his homeland. Nevertheless, he remains hopeful about the country’s resilience. “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.”

The poll surveyed 1,029 U.S. adults who identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander between December 2-8, 2025. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.