Is Donald Trump improving the lives of Americans?

The question of Trump's impact is highly debated — I'll gather the latest economic and polling data to evaluate it.

Whether Donald Trump is improving the lives of Americans depends on which metrics you emphasize. The data since the start of his second term in January 2025 shows a mixed picture:

Economic Indicators That Have Improved

Income and Poverty:
According to a Census Bureau report, the official poverty rate fell to 10.2 percent in 2025, the lowest figure since tracking began in 1959. In total, 1.5 million Americans were lifted out of poverty in 2025.

Real median household income reached a record high of $87,460 in 2025, a 2.6 percent increase, topping the previous high of $85,320 in 2019. The Census Bureau also reported child poverty dropped to a historic low of 13.4 percent and Hispanic poverty to 13.9 percent.

Growth and Markets:
The economy is expanding at an annualised 2.2%, and has grown about 3.2% since the end of 2024, more than any other G7 country in that period. The nation's real gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 2.2% in the second quarter of 2026.

The S&P 500 went up 28.6% during the second term so far, and is up about 12% this year, continuing to set record highs. Corporate profits continued to rise; 2025 was the 10th consecutive year that profits increased.

FactCheck.org noted median household income rose in 2025, while the official poverty rate declined and the violent crime and murder rates in 2025 continued to decline.

Unemployment:
The 4.2% unemployment rate has been a sign of the economy's health, edging up to 4.2%, still historically low. It is well below the median rate for all months since 1948, which is 5.5%.

Supporters point to policies including making the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions permanent via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025, deregulation, and tariffs as drivers of growth. The administration framed its policy around tax cuts, deregulation, and boosting domestic production.

Indicators That Have Worsened or Stalled

Inflation and Cost of Living:
The consumer price index had been rising at an annual clip of 3% in January 2025, when Trump returned to the White House. The last CPI report before Election Day showed inflation was 3.7% over the past 12 months, and over Trump's entire first 20 months in office, the CPI went up 5.4%, with gasoline up 38%.

Jobs:
Job growth became sluggish, with only 776,000 jobs created, compared to rising by 2,613,000 during the final 20 months of President Joe Biden's administration.

Employers are adding on average almost 39,000 jobs a month during Trump's second term, while monthly hiring gains were topping 121,000 on average in the year before Trump returned.

Consumer Sentiment and Borrowing Costs:
Consumer sentiment remains low. After reaching a record low in May at 44.8, the University of Michigan's Index was 46.3 in October, down from 71.7 in January 2025 as Trump took office.

Borrowing has become more expensive. Interest on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is above 5%, having hit its highest levels since 2002. Home prices increased 6.2% and the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.40% as of Oct. 15, up from 7.04% in Jan. 2025.

Inequality and Poverty Measures:
An alternative measure of poverty that factors in government assistance showed no meaningful change. The supplemental poverty measure was at 13.1% in 2025, compared with 13.0% in 2024.

Since Trump returned, the wealth of the top 0.1% of households has increased by $5.5 trillion in just 18 months, while the bottom 50% have seen their wealth increase by $380 billion. That means the bottom half saw net worth improve by $5,600 on average, while the richest 0.1% saw an average gain of $40.8 million.

Wages just barely rose faster than inflation, as measured since Trump was sworn in. But they've decreased this year. Real weekly earnings rose 0.94% during the first 20 months, but fell 0.87% in 2026 after rising 1.83% in 2025.

Public Opinion

Polling shows dissatisfaction with the economy:

In summary, by official income and poverty statistics and GDP/stock market growth, some measures show improvement to record levels. By inflation, job creation pace, consumer confidence, and cost-of-living sentiment, other measures show deterioration or stagnation. Whether lives are "improving" is often judged based on which of these factors voters prioritize.