Affordability is part of the Philadelphia region’s midterm conversation, but accounts from a handful of residents do not establish whether prices will outweigh party loyalty at the ballot box. The local voter accounts discussed here were reported by CBS Philadelphia; regional wage and cost data offer additional context for the pressures voters described.
In its reporting, CBS Philadelphia found that high prices were a leading concern among the voters it spoke with, regardless of whom they supported. In Springtown, Bucks County, Clint Pagano named the economy as his chief worry; in nearby Riegelsville, Jane Gable said, “Cost of gas and food.” A CBS News poll found that nine in 10 Americans said prices were the most important factor influencing their vote, and many households said they were struggling to keep up with everyday necessities.
Grocery Bills That Don't Match the Shopping List
In Hellertown, Northampton County, Janice Zavacky told CBS Philadelphia that grocery prices had risen considerably. Neighbor Iyonia Burns said a recent grocery trip cost almost $100, though she had planned to spend about $40. Food prices have risen 22% over five years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average price of a dozen eggs climbed from about $1.67 in 2021 to $2.27, while a pound of ground beef rose from $4.33 to nearly $7.
In the CBS Philadelphia report, certified public accountant and financial columnist Gene Marks said rising energy prices ripple beyond the pump: fuel and petroleum costs also affect packaging materials and consumer goods more broadly. Marks said higher housing, grocery and transportation costs have compounded pressure on workers, even as the U.S. economy overall shows a record-high stock market, strong consumer spending and relatively low unemployment.
Wages Losing Ground to Inflation
Marks, citing payroll data, said average wage growth for many workers remains below the inflation rate — people's pay, in his words, is barely keeping up. Analysts estimate the average American household now pays hundreds of dollars more each month because of inflation. That squeeze shows up in regional numbers too: in 2025, just 44.3% of full-time workers in the 11-county Philadelphia region earned a living wage, down from 54.7% in 2021, according to a report covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer. The average living wage for a family of four in the region is now $32.88 an hour, based on Living Wage Institute data cited in the same report.
Healthcare costs alone are up more than 50% in the region since 2021, Living Wage Institute cofounder Kavya Vaghul noted, per the Inquirer's report. Federal labor data show the squeeze isn't unique to Philadelphia: the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the annual increase in compensation costs in the Philadelphia metro area was 3.3% in June 2026, compared with a 3.3% rise in New York-Newark and 2.8% in Boston-Worcester-Providence.
Wages Trail Inflation Nationwide
The pattern holds up at the national level too. From September 2025 to September 2026, U.S. average weekly wages grew 3.6% year over year, slightly slower than the 3.7% inflation rate over the same period, according to USAFacts. After adjusting for inflation, real wage growth actually came in at -0.11%, equivalent to a decline of about a dollar a week for the average worker. Separate federal data referenced in that period show inflation-adjusted wages and salaries falling 0.5% over the year even as benefit costs rose 3.8%.
National polling suggests the affordability anxiety showing up in Bucks and Northampton counties is widespread. A CBS News poll found the economy and inflation remain top concerns among voters, with those calling inflation a very important issue mostly backing Democrats; that survey, conducted with YouGov, interviewed 2,355 U.S. adults from October 21 to 23 with a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.
A Theme Repeating Across State Lines
The same frustration is surfacing just across the Delaware River. A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found that 90% of surveyed New Jersey voters said affordability was important to their vote this year, while 87% said gas prices mattered, according to NJ Spotlight News. Nearly 60% of New Jersey voters surveyed in mid-October said the economy had gotten worse over the past year, that outlet reported, citing the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University.
Projected data from United for Alice show the cost of basic necessities continuing to outpace overall inflation through 2025 and 2026, according to the Guardian. The organization's broader research found that 41.3% of U.S. households — more than 54.5 million — faced financial hardship in 2024. The same report noted that Lorain County, Ohio, public-sector workers have been on strike since February 2026, which the Guardian described as the longest public-sector strike in Ohio history.
Housing costs, utility bills and an earlier voter poll
Available housing data provide a snapshot, not a county-by-county trend: the Pennsylvania State Data Center reported that 51.9% of Philadelphia County renters were housing cost burdened in the 2017–2021 American Community Survey period, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The verified figures here do not establish how that burden changed from 2019 through the latest Census data in Philadelphia, Bucks and Northampton counties, or compare renters with homeowners. For utility costs, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said approved PECO settlement rates would raise the 2025 monthly bill for a residential customer using 700 kilowatt hours by $13.58, including generation, taxes and other surcharges. That figure does not provide a 2021-to-2025 comparison or a comparison with PPL service territory rates. As historical context, the Franklin & Marshall College Poll reported that in October 2022, 34% of Pennsylvania registered voters named the economy—including unemployment, personal finances and gas prices—as the state’s most important problem. That measured stated issue priorities, not what ultimately determined their votes.
Voter enthusiasm heading into the midterms appears mixed nationally. An Economist/YouGov poll conducted October 10 to 12 found 41% of respondents more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous congressional election years, 17% less enthusiastic, and 37% feeling about the same. For voters like Pagano, Gable, Zavacky and Burns, though, the enthusiasm question may matter less than the one staring back at them every time they check out at the grocery store.
