76% of Americans say the U.S. economic system is rigged to favor the wealthy
Overview
76.1% of U.S. adults agree that the U.S. economic system is rigged to benefit the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of ordinary people, the sum of 43.4% who strongly agree and 32.7% who somewhat agree. Just 18.5% disagree (11.0% somewhat plus 7.5% strongly).
The strain shows up in concrete terms too. 36.0% of adults say it was sometimes (24.4%) or often (11.6%) true in the past 12 months that they worried their food would run out before they got money to buy more.
Stacked breakdown
76.1% agree the economic system is rigged to benefit the wealthy and well-connected, including 43.4% who strongly agree.
The economic system in the United States is rigged to benefit the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of ordinary people.
- Strongly agree
- 43.4%
- Somewhat agree
- 32.7%
- Somewhat disagree
- 11.0%
- Strongly disagree
- 7.5%
- I’m not sure
- 5.4%
Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052
View source dataThree-quarters call the system rigged
76.1% of adults agree that the economic system is rigged to benefit the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of ordinary people, combining 43.4% who strongly agree and 32.7% who somewhat agree.
18.5% disagree (11.0% somewhat plus 7.5% strongly), and 5.4% are not sure.
Strong agreement peaks among the young
53.4% of adults under 30 strongly agree the system is rigged, compared with 37.5% of those 65 and older.
By region, strong agreement is highest in the Northeast (49.2%) and lowest in the South (39.5%).
Topline
36.0% of adults worried at least sometimes in the past year that their food would run out before they got money to buy more.
Within the past 12 months, we worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.
- Never true 64.1%
- Sometimes true 24.4%
- Often true 11.6%
Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052
View source dataFood worry reaches a third of adults
36.0% of adults say it was sometimes (24.4%) or often (11.6%) true in the past 12 months that they worried their food would run out before they got money to buy more; 64.1% say it was never true.
Men were more likely than women to say that worry never applied (71.0% vs. 57.5%).
Methodology
Full methodology- Mode
- Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population
- US adults age 18+
- Field dates
- 2026-05-21 → 2026-05-26
- Base (unweighted)
- 1,000
- Margin of error
- +/- 3.1%
- Module
- Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052
- Sponsor
- Verasight
- Weight variable
- weight
- Weighting targets
- age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status
Sources
[2]- 01Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The economic system in the United States is rigged to benefit the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of ordinary people.Shows agreement that the economic system is rigged to benefit the wealthy.reports.verasight.io/r/aapor-2026
- 02Within the past 12 months, we worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.Shows how many adults worried about food running out in the past year.reports.verasight.io/r/aapor-2026
Citation
Verasight AAPOR Omnibus Survey #2026-052, fielded May 21-26, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.1%.