Housing costs rank among top concerns for young voters, CNBC survey finds

Housing costs ranked among the most important concerns for U.S. voters ages 18 to 34 and were the top issue for men ages 18 to 49, outranking food prices, energy costs and immigration and border security issues, according to a new CNBC survey.

CNBC polled 1,000 registered voters nationwide from July 8 to 12. Respondents could name more than one top concern. The survey found that 36% cited food and grocery prices as the most important issue to them, 29% named protecting democracy and 25% said immigration and border security.

In fourth position was the cost of housing, which was named by 24% of respondents, followed by cost of healthcare, which was named by 22%.

However, among younger voters — a key group both Republicans and Democrats are trying to court — housing costs and healthcare tied for the top spot.

Housing was the most important issue for male respondents ages 18 to 49. It was the second-most important issue for all respondents ages 35 to 49, after the cost of consumer goods.

The survey results also showed sharp differences by age, gender and party affiliation.

Of those surveyed, 26% were ages 18 to 34 and 35% were 50 or older. About 76% identified as white, 12% as Black and 4% as Hispanic. Politically, 41% of respondents leaned Republican, 40% leaned Democrat and 17% described themselves as strictly independent.

Thirty-eight percent of the voters surveyed said Democrats could better manage the housing issue, while 32% said the Republicans had the edge. Among those who ranked housing among their top two issues, 53% said the Democrats would do a better job than Republicans.

“I think housing could be the healthcare of 2024, given especially the need for Democrats to turn young people out who are inclined to be anti-Trump and pro-democratic,” Jay Campbell, a partner at Hart Research, the Democratic pollster for the survey, said about the poll results in a CNBC article.

Among those polled who leaned toward the Democrats, housing was the third-most important issue after the cost of food and protecting democracy. Independents named housing costs fourth in priority, after food costs, democracy and immigration and border security.

Republicans placed housing costs lower on the priority list, naming immigration, food costs and Iran ahead of housing concerns. Overall, 14% of voters named Iran as a top priority. Other concerns included energy costs, cited by 9% of respondents, and jobs and unemployment and taxes, each cited by 8%.