5 Things South Carolinians Say They Struggle to Afford the Most

Money feels tight for a lot of households right now.

A university poll asked South Carolinians which everyday costs are hardest to cover.

Here’s what many of your neighbors said are out of reach.

Note: This is general information, not financial advice. Prices and survey figures are subject to change.

Who Ran the Survey and How

The Winthrop Poll comes from the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research at Winthrop University, which also pays for it.

The center sent its May 2026 survey out online to people across South Carolina between April 29 and May 12.

Answers came back from 1,434 respondents.

The published margin of error is plus or minus 2.59 percentage points, so each figure ahead could land a little higher or lower.

It asked about groceries, housing, health care, dinners out, and vacations, plus personal finances and the economy.

It’s a snapshot of what your neighbors told researchers, not what every household would say.

These are the costs the Winthrop Poll asked about, starting with the one the biggest share of respondents flagged.

1. Week-Long Vacations

A week-long vacation drew the largest share of any cost the Winthrop Poll asked about, with 72% of respondents calling it unaffordable.

Just 28% called it affordable.

Winthrop asked people to think about their household budget and the cost of things these days before they answered.

If you’ve looked into a week away lately, you already know why that split looks the way it does.

How the Winthrop Poll Asked About Each Cost

The Winthrop Poll asked about groceries, health care, and housing on a scale that ran from very easy to very difficult to afford.

It asked about dining out and week-long vacations differently, with only two choices, affordable or unaffordable.

For the scale questions, the shares in this article add together the difficult and very difficult answers.

Because the two question styles differ, the percentages work best as a rough guide to what weighs on people, not as a strict ranking.

2. Grocery Bills

Grocery bills drew the second-largest share in the Winthrop Poll, with 67% of respondents calling them difficult or very difficult to afford.

Winthrop’s tables split that into 45% who said difficult and 22% who said very difficult.

Only 28% found groceries easy or very easy to afford.

Just 6% said very easy.

Another 2% said groceries didn’t apply to them.

3. Dinners Out

In the Winthrop Poll, 61% of respondents call going out to dinner unaffordable.

Another 39% called it affordable.

That puts dinner out below vacations and groceries in share, and above health care and housing.

So if a night out feels like a stretch for your budget, you’re hardly alone among the people who answered.

Psst! How much do you know about what moves your household budget? Flip each card and see how many you can get right.

4. Health Care Costs

Health care costs were difficult to afford for around 59% of respondents in the Winthrop Poll, a figure that includes insurance costs and prescription medication.

Winthrop’s tables show 32% answering difficult and 27% answering very difficult.

Another 9% said health care costs didn’t apply to them.

Winthrop’s question named insurance costs and prescription medication as examples.

Both count.

So your premium and your pharmacy run are part of that 59%.

5. Housing Costs

Winthrop’s summary puts housing costs, including rent and mortgages, at around 59%, about even with health care.

The tables show 27% answering difficult and 31% answering very difficult.

That second number stands out.

Housing’s 31% is the largest share of very difficult answers for any cost on the four-step scale.

Another 14% said housing costs didn’t apply to them, so the 59% is a share of all respondents, including people it didn’t apply to.

If you pay rent or a mortgage, your monthly check is part of what those answers measure.

Who Finds It Manageable

The Winthrop Poll’s tables also show a smaller group that calls these costs within reach.

On the four-step scale, 28% found groceries easy or very easy, 27% said so for health care, and 25% for housing.

Housing drew the fewest.

Dinner out drew the biggest affordable share, 39%, though that question offered only two answer choices.

Feeling Worse Off

Winthrop also asked whether people were better off financially than a year earlier, and 48% said they weren’t as well off.

Only 21% said better off.

Another 31% said their finances were in about the same shape.

That means more than twice as many people reported a step back as reported a step forward.

Looking Ahead

Winthrop also asked about the year ahead, and 38% of respondents expected economic conditions in the country as a whole to get worse.

Another 28% expected them to get better.

About 23% expected no change.

The other 11% didn’t know.

Today’s ratings run the same direction, with 62% of respondents calling the economy fairly bad or very bad, against 33% who called it fairly good or very good.

If you’re uneasy about the next twelve months, you’re in the largest group.

Forces Beyond the State

If you wonder what’s behind rising prices, the radio station WRHI reported in May 2026 that Winthrop Poll director Scott Huffmon says they’re driven largely by national forces.

That leaves lawmakers little room.