The survey is seen as a standard for measuring how people feel about issues like the economy and other topics.
The Kinder Institute survey interviewed nearly 9,000 people from Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties in January and February 2026.
The 2026 study shows that many people are not satisfied with the state of the economy and the cost of living.
"One of our big findings in this year's survey is this sort of souring on the economy with a particular decline in people's views about the job opportunities this area has," Rice University's Director of Houston Population Research Center, Daniel Potter, Ph.D., said.
25% of people in the Houston metro area view the economy as the biggest problem, and 13% view the cost of living as the biggest problem, according to Kinder's survey.
It remains to be seen whether Houstonians will remain concerned about the state of the economy.
"It seems very uncertain right now," Iris said. "I'm a bit pessimistic about the future."