Roughly eight-in-ten Republicans (81%) say they are largely satisfied with the way things are going for them financially, compared with much smaller majorities of Democrats and independents (54% each) — the largest partisan gap recorded since the Pew values surveys began 20 years ago. A decade ago, partisan differences in satisfaction with personal finances were modest, and in 1994 Republicans, Democrats and independents expressed nearly identical levels of satisfaction with their finances. The partisan split is especially notable among Americans of mid-to-low income levels. Three-quarters of Republicans with household incomes of $50,000 or less say they are pretty well satisfied with the way things are going for them financially, compared with just 40% of Democrats and a similar share of independents (39%). Even among Republicans who say they often do not have enough money to make ends meet, nearly six-in-ten (58%) express satisfaction in the way things are going for them financially. By contrast, just 30% of Democrats and 32% of independents who have trouble making ends meet say they are satisfied with their personal financial situation. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.