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North Carolinians Are Paying for Trump’s Affordability Crisis As He Visits Gastonia

By September 16, 2026No Comments

Tonight, Donald Trump is stopping in Gastonia, North Carolina to headline yet another rally. But while he pleads with his supporters to shore up Republicans across the state, North Carolina voters are grappling with a cost-of-living crisis created and worsened by the GOP. 86 percent of North Carolina voters say inflation and the cost of living are top issues, and voters blame the Trump administration for high prices by a wide margin — and for good reason. Costs are climbing every day in North Carolina as Trump’s destructive policies rip away North Carolinians’ economic security. Food insecurity in the state has climbed past 1.7 million people as Trump’s tariffs push grocery bills higher. Gas and diesel prices are running red-hot as Trump continues pushing his war of choice with Iran. For buyers and renters alike, housing has become increasingly unaffordable for median-income North Carolina households, with affordability declining in all 15 metropolitan areas across the state. Even school closures are on the table as North Carolina educators struggle with rising costs and Trump’s education cuts.

 

Many of these rising costs can be traced back to Trump’s terrible economic policies. In the wake of this energy crisis, Trump’s policies targeted millions of dollars in North Carolina clean energy investments, costing the state thousands of jobs last year alone and driving a top local renewable energy provider to bankruptcy. As costs climb, North Carolinians have also been losing the help that helped many families stave off crisis. After Trump and Republicans cut around $1 trillion from Medicaid and ripped away Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, over 230,000 and counting have lost the health care coverage they relied on. Meanwhile, nearly 110,000 North Carolinians have lost food assistance after Trump and Republicans cut nearly $200 billion from the program to hand tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations.

 

Throughout Trump’s second term, the President and Republicans in Congress have worked in lockstep to reward their rich and powerful friends at the expense of everyone else. They are obliterating the economic security of millions across the country, and working families are the ones paying the price.

 

North Carolina Cost Of Living

 

  • COST-OF-LIVING IS A TOP CONCERN FOR NORTH CAROLINIANS: In Donald Trump’s second term, the average household in North Carolina has had to pay an additional $3,100+ for goods and services. Donald Trump’s economic policies have raised costs for North Carolina residents, and it shows:
    • AFFORDABILITY IS THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE IN THE STATE. A September Elon University Poll found that 86 percent of North Carolina voters call inflation and the cost of living very important to their vote, with the general economy and health care tied behind it at 73 percent — making affordability the defining issue of the fall in North Carolina. Another poll found that concern about inflation and the cost of living reaches 98 percent of registered North Carolina voters.
    • THREE IN FOUR NORTH CAROLINA VOTERS ARE STRESSED ABOUT INFLATION AND RISING COSTS. A February Change Research poll found that a majority of North Carolina voters think Donald Trump has made no or little progress on lowering the cost of groceries (66%), creating jobs and increasing wages (57%), or lowering the cost of gasoline or energy (53%). 59% of North Carolina voters say their incomes are falling behind the cost of living, and more than three-quarters are stressed about inflation and rising costs.
    • MOST NORTH CAROLINIANS SAY TRUMP’S POLICIES HAVE HURT THE ECONOMY. A March Elon University-YouGov poll of North Carolina adults found that more than half (55%) believe the national economy has gotten worse since Trump took office last year, with only 20% saying it has gotten better. 53% say they have experienced a negative impact from Trump’s tariffs, up from 46% in September.
  • COST OF GROCERIES IS UP: Food costs are rising nationwide thanks to Donald Trump’s tariffs and America-last trade policies – especially in North Carolina. Asheville food businesses are raising prices due to increased ingredient costs attributed to inflation and Trump’s tariffs. A majority (51 percent) of North Carolinians now say basic goods such as groceries, personal care items, and household goods are unaffordable.
    • FOOD INSECURITY HAS HIT A GENERATIONAL HIGH. New data shows that roughly 1.7 million North Carolinians — about one in six — are food insecure. In the 34 counties served by the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, close to 630,000 people cannot reliably afford food, nearly 180,000 more than at the peak of the pandemic in 2021, and 21.5 percent of North Carolina children face food insecurity. But instead of working to reduce food insecurity, Trump and Republicans cut food assistance by nearly $200 billion. 
  • HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE UP THANKS TO TRUMP & REPUBLICANS: The Trump-GOP Big, Ugly Bill cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and more than half a million North Carolinians stand to lose their health care because of Trump and Republicans’ changes to Medicaid and the ACA. Between 2025 and 2026, ACA enrollment fell by nearly 165,000 enrollees as premiums spiked. Likewise, nearly 70,000 North Carolinians have lost Medicaid or CHIP since June 2025.
  • Local hospitals will lose billions in funding due to these cuts, and nearly two dozen health care facilities in North Carolina are facing or have already grappled with cuts or closure since the passage of the law.
    • NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT RISING HEALTH CARE COSTS: A majority of North Carolina voters think Trump has made no or little progress in bringing down health care costs (68%). 63 percent of North Carolinians say health care and insurance are unaffordable, and a large majority (63 percent) of North Carolinians say they are very or somewhat concerned that it may become harder for them to get the health care they need.
  • NORTH CAROLINA ENERGY COSTS SKYROCKETING: Since Trump took office last January, household electric bills are up 15 percent. Climate Power estimates that electricity bills in the state are rising $343 annually, and Duke Energy – which serves about 1.8 million people across Central and Western North Carolina – is seeking a 15 percent rate hike. A majority (53 percent) of North Carolinians now say energy and utility costs are unaffordable.
    • GAS PRICES ARE UP OVER 45% THANKS TO TRUMP’S WAR IN IRAN: Trump’s war with Iran has caused gas prices to skyrocket in North Carolina, where drivers are paying an average 45% more than a year ago as of September 2026. The average family in North Carolina has paid an additional $721 in gas costs since the start of Trump’s war with Iran.
    • DIESEL JUST SET AN ALL-TIME NORTH CAROLINA RECORD. Thanks to Trump’s war with Iran, North Carolina diesel broke its previous record and approaches $6 a gallon as of September 2026. Diesel sets the price of moving every grocery, every crop, and every delivery in this state.
  • JOB LOSSES & LOST INVESTMENT: Trump has targeted billions of dollars in North Carolina clean energy investments, threatening or terminating $2.3 billion in clean energy funding for the state, including at least $156 million in solar grants. According to Climate Power, nearly 10,000 jobs in North Carolina have been lost in Trump’s second term. And this is only the beginning: in total, tens of thousands more North Carolinians employed in the clean energy industry could lose their jobs, and some North Carolina households could see their energy bills rise by 18 percent because of the removal of tax credits for clean energy.
    • TRUMP-GOP POLICIES DROVE AN ASHVILLE ENERGY COMPANY TO BANKRUPTCY: Asheville-based Pine Gate Renewables declared bankruptcy and laid off more than 78 percent of its workforce, and is closing its local Asheville facility in the wake of Trump’s big, ugly bill. Its subsidiary, Blue Ridge Power, laid off 517 workers, including 348 in Fayetteville and 169 in Asheville. 
    • THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION KILLED A $1.4 BILLION FACTORY PLANNED FOR EASTERN NC: Natron Energy, which closed and began liquidation in September, canceled a $1.4 billion factory in Eastern North Carolina that would have created 1,000 jobs. These cuts have prompted North Carolina to join a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration.
  • TAR HEEL HOUSING CRUNCH: Affordable housing in North Carolina is becoming more scarce. Nearly three-quarters of North Carolina voters think Donald Trump has made no or little progress on lowering the cost of housing (71%). 70 percent of North Carolinians also say housing in the state is unaffordable. Home affordability has declined across all 15 of North Carolina’s metropolitan areas since 2019. Now, buying a home has become unaffordable for median-income households in all but one metropolitan area market in the state. North Carolina’s housing availability rate has dropped below 1 percent, and median home prices have increased by over 66 percent since 2020. The National Low Income Housing Coalition found that there is a severe shortage of affordable rental homes, with only 130,930 affordable rental homes available for 326,751 extremely low-income North Carolina households.
  • SMALL BUSINESSES ARE SUFFERING: Many small business owners in North Carolina say they are struggling with rising costs, shipping delays, and economic uncertainty. A PNC survey of North Carolina business owners found that 51 percent of Raleigh-area business owners listed higher prices as an extreme concern, higher than the national average. Trump’s tariffs are threatening local industries in North Carolina. The state’s craft brewing industry, for example, which supports more than 70,000 jobs and generates over $13 billion in the state, has been hit hard by Trump’s tariffs on aluminum and steel.
    • SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH CARE SKYROCKETS: The Trump-GOP plan to rip away ACA tax credits will hit North Carolina’s small businesses especially hard. Over 136,000 small business owners in the state relied on the ACA for coverage in 2025 – 1 in 7 ACA enrollees in North Carolina – and 87 percent of small business owners reportedly want Congress to permanently extend ACA tax credits.
  • TAR HEEL SCHOOLS IN CRISIS: North Carolina schools are struggling amid Trump and DOGE’s budget cuts, Republican-caused funding disruptions, and higher costs. Earlier last year, the Trump administration cancelled $121 million in federal grants to North Carolina schools related to teacher training, mental health staff, and school meals. As the school year began, the Trump-GOP budget and government shutdown disrupted a further $199 million in federal grants to North Carolina schools. A recent survey found that North Carolina teachers face the second-highest classroom supply costs in the nation. In Western North Carolina, some school districts have even considered closing schools to address multi-million-dollar budget shortfalls.
  • HELP RIPPED AWAY: Trump’s budget cuts are ripping away vital assistance for health care, food, and more from hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. 
    • CUTTING NORTH CAROLINA FOOD ASSISTANCE: Trump and Republicans in Congress cut $187 billion in food assistance, which could leave hundreds of thousands of North Carolina residents with reduced food aid. Compared to June 2025, nearly 110,000 North Carolinians have already lost their SNAP food assistance benefits. These cuts to federal food aid leave North Carolina without $2.8 billion in annual federal funds that generate $4.2 billion in economic impact. If the state is forced to exit the SNAP program altogether due to these cuts, it could leave another 1.2 million North Carolinians, including 600,000 children, without food assistance. 
    • TEARING DOWN DISASTER AID: The Trump administration’s decision to leave North Carolinians to fend for themselves in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene continues to impact Western North Carolina’s economy.

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