Kinder Institute survey shows Houstonians worry about the economy, political division

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Have you been feeling uncertain lately about many aspects of living in Houston? Well, it turns out, you're not the only one.

Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research has unveiled its 45th annual Houston-area survey.

It's long been a barometer for how people in our area feel about everything from their financial security to their safety.

This survey, the largest of its kind in the country, shows many Houstonians are feeling more stressed than ever before.

"It's not just important to know what the other is thinking from a policy perspective; it's selfishly important," Dr. Daniel Potter, the director of the Houston Population Research Center at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, said. "Because it's going to improve your health, your wealth, your sense of safety. So how do we benefit ourselves and the collective?"

The Kinder Houston area survey interviewed nearly 9,000 people from Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties in January and February 2026.

The biggest problem residents identified this year is the economy.

"Over the past year, we saw a decline of 29 percentage points in the percent of residents rating jobs as good or excellent, which is the largest decline we have ever seen in Harris County since 1982, which was the oil crisis, and it is the biggest decline we've ever detected in Fort Bend and Montgomery County," he said.

Crime ranked second among our most important issues, and more than seven in 10 residents reported being moderately to extremely concerned about extreme weather.

And then there's politics. More people reported feeling politically discriminated against than at any time in the past three decades.

"This is a feeling that exists across parties," Dr. Potter explained. "But beyond just that discrimination, there's also an increasing exhaustion."

But Houstonians may have more in common than we realize.

Take, for example, criminal background checks for gun sales.

The survey shows that Democrats believe 35% of Republicans support them, and Republicans believe 74% of Democrats support them.

But the survey shows 97% Democrats and 91% of Republicans actually support them.

"We allow ourselves to be told this is controversial, this is third rail, this is something we couldn't possibly do when the reality is you have more than 90% of both political parties pushing on that," he explained.

For the first time in 45 years, researchers looked into social connections.

Turns out, your attitudes about how the city is doing tie in with how close you are to those around you.

"How well connected I feel to my neighbors and how much trust I feel for where I'm living matters for my health, not just my mental health, but my physical health, literally my body's functioning is improved by connecting to other people," Dr. Potter said.