Should we assess how lives have changed under Trump? I'll pull the latest data on the economy, costs, and public opinion.
Whether Donald Trump is improving the lives of Americans as of November 2026 is disputed, with different data points cited by the White House, independent fact-checkers, and public polling.
Claims of Improvement Cited by the Administration
The White House argues the economy is improving for working Americans:
•Gas prices are "dropping sharply, hitting new multi-year lows — with forecasts showing 2026 averages below $3 per gallon"
•Private sector workers have seen "strong real wage gains, growing nearly $1,400 in just one year — decisively beating inflation", and in a longer-term tally "more than $1,400 in just" one year
•Blue-collar gains specifically of "mining workers up ~$2,400, construction workers up ~$2,100, and manufacturing workers up ~$1,700 in real terms"
•Job creation figures cited as "over 615,000 net private sector jobs in his second term" and elsewhere "Created 654,000 private-sector jobs" with "real GDP rising 4.3% in the third quarter of 2025"
•Manufacturing rebound: "Manufacturing is roaring back... The sector added 15,000 new jobs in March, capping off the first quarter of 2026 with the first positive manufacturing job growth in three years" and "Manufacturing employment is up 72,000 in 2026"
Other reports note median household income, adjusted for inflation, rose 2.6% in 2025 to $87,460, the highest on record.
Data Pointing to Affordability Challenges
FactCheck.org's October 2026 update, which tracks official government data, provides a different mix:
•"Job growth became sluggish, with only 776,000 jobs created. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%, still historically low."
•"Inflation worsened. Consumer prices are up 5.4%. Gasoline is up 38%."
•"Wages just barely rose faster than inflation, as measured since Trump was sworn in. But they’ve decreased this year." with "average weekly earnings of all private-sector workers, adjusted for inflation, rose 0.94% during Trump’s first 20 months."
•On inflation rate: "In the 12 months before Trump took office, the Consumer Price Index... rose 3.0%. And in the most recent BLS report, the 12-month increase was 3.7%." and "Over Trump’s entire first 20 months in office, the CPI went up 5.4%, pushed up most recently by his war on Iran, which sent fuel prices soaring."
•"Consumer sentiment remains low." and as of October, consumer sentiment is "25.4 points lower than it was in January 2025, when it was 71.7"
•Trade and other indicators are mixed: "The trade deficit for the most recent 12 months is down 10.4% compared with 2024, but it has risen substantially in the last two months on record.", "The S&P 500 went up 28.6%.", and "The publicly held debt is up about 12.8%."
Other analyses note:
•Inflation comparison: "Annual CPI rose to 3.7% in September from 3.4% in August"
•Real wages flat when measured differently: "both consumer prices and average hourly pay rose by about 5.4%, leaving inflation-adjusted earnings essentially exactly where they started."
•An Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis cited in reports finds "a typical household in the middle 20% of earners is expected to pay approximately $1,700 more in taxes and related expenses in 2026."
FactCheck.org notes for all such numbers: "We make no judgment on how much credit or blame the president should receive for these metrics. And we leave it to readers to form their own opinions on whether the indicators are positive, negative or neither."
Public Perception
Polls in October 2026 ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms show low approval on economic handling:
•"Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 33%-36% across three polls"
•"Only 28 percent... approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of jobs and the economy, while his overall approval rating sits at 34 percent and 59 percent disapprove."
•CNN/SSRS: "27% Approve of Trump’s handling of the economy" and "23% Approve of Trump’s handling of inflation"
•Reuters/Ipsos: "Some 31% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office"
•AP-NORC: "only 17 per cent of US adults approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, while 26 per cent approved of his handling of the economy overall."
In summary, supporters point to private-sector job creation, rising nominal and some real wages, low gas price forecasts, and manufacturing gains in 2026 as evidence lives are improving, while critics point to higher year-over-year inflation (3.7% vs 3.0% at inauguration), gasoline prices up 38% over the term, sluggish overall job growth, flat inflation-adjusted wages over the full term, and low consumer sentiment as evidence affordability has worsened.