Winthrop poll: SC residents struggle with grocery prices, can’t afford to eat out

Most South Carolina residents can’t afford to go out to dinner, and they’re having a hard time paying for groceries too, according to new research from Winthrop University.

The Winthrop Poll released economic and affordability figures Thursday that show residents across the state feel the economy isn’t as strong as it was a year ago — and it’s getting worse. Everything from prescriptions to vacations are difficult to pay for, the poll found.

While it’s national forces that impact inflation and similar economic factors that impact costs, people here “feel pushed to the economic brink,” Winthrop Poll director Scott Huffmon said in Thursday’s release.

“Things that may have been seen as simple pleasures in the past, such as taking an annual vacation or occasionally going out to dinner, feel out of reach for most South Carolinians,” he said.

Winthrop poll: 4 out of 5 SC residents feel worse off financially

Here are more details from the poll taken from nearly 1,500 South Carolina adult residents from April 29 to May 12:

• One-third of respondents indicated today’s economy is fairly good or very good.
• Only one in five people said they’re better off financially than they were a year ago. Nearly half, at 48%, were worse off while 31% were about the same.
• Only 28% of people believe the nation will have a better economy a year from now, the study found, while 38% believe it will be worse.
• Some 67% of people find it difficult or very difficult to afford groceries. Only 6% of responses find it very easy to afford them.
• For healthcare costs like insurance and prescription medication, 59% find it difficult or very difficult to afford. Another 19% find it easy, and 8% find it very easy.
• Housing costs like rent and mortgages are very difficult for 31% to afford, and difficult for another 27%. Just one in four people find housing costs easy or very easy to afford.
• Due to household budgets, 72% of respondents indicated a weeklong vacation is unaffordable. Going out to dinner is unaffordable for 61% of people, the poll found.

About the Winthrop poll

Winthrop polls come out several times each year on timely social topics, and often include breakdowns by political affiliation.

Economic questions from past polls on issues from general financial climate to tariffs often broke down by party, depending on who was president at the time. This one doesn’t split the data by party, but instead goes deeper into topics such as grocery affordability and healthcare costs.

Winthrop University funded the poll through its Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research.

Huffmon acknowledges that local or even state politics can only do so much to curb prices on household goods.

As early voting is underway statewide for party primaries, with offices from Congress to governor to county council representatives on the ballot, he recognizes there’s always a heavy emphasis on polls of likely voters for the next election.

“Very often,” Huffmon said, “that obscures the opinions and daily struggles of the typical South Carolinian.”