92% of mayors representing roughly 34 million Americans say the cost of living has INCREASED in their cities since last year — and most admit local programs aren’t enough to fix it.
That’s according to a newly released United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) survey covering 113 cities across 39 states and Puerto Rico. The findings paint a grim picture of Main Street America struggling under an affordability crisis that keeps getting worse.
The survey results underscore how deeply the affordability crisis has penetrated communities of all sizes across the country, from small cities just meeting the organization’s population threshold to major metropolitan areas. The breadth of the geographic spread — encompassing nearly 40 states plus Puerto Rico — suggests this is not a regional phenomenon but a nationwide challenge affecting urban centers regardless of local economic conditions or political leadership.
“The message I hear is people are working harder than ever but many feel that the basic cost of living is moving faster than they can keep up.”
Housing tops the list of pain points. Nearly 96% of mayors cited housing costs as the primary affordability concern for residents. Groceries came in second at 55.4%, followed by utilities at 40.2%.
The overwhelming consensus on housing reflects a crisis that has been building for years in cities across America. The gap between what housing costs and what residents can afford has widened significantly, forcing mayors to confront a problem that often exceeds the scope of municipal authority and budget capacity. The fact that groceries and utilities round out the top three concerns illustrates how essential household expenses are squeezing families from multiple directions simultaneously.
Greensboro, North Carolina Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter described her city’s response: “We offer rental assistance to those who qualify who may be experiencing homelessness or financial hardship. We have the Housing GSO plan that is organized around four goals: affordable rental housing, neighborhood investment, home ownership opportunity, and supportive housing.”
Abuzuaiter also noted that Greensboro’s city council approved more than $8.1 million in funds for six affordable multifamily developments.
Greensboro’s multi-pronged approach represents the kind of comprehensive strategy many cities are attempting to deploy, even as they acknowledge the limits of what municipal budgets can accomplish. The combination of immediate rental assistance with longer-term development funding shows how cities are trying to address both urgent needs and structural housing shortages at the same time.
Fitchburg, Massachusetts Mayor Sam Squailia said, “The message I hear is people are working harder than ever but many feel that the basic cost of living is moving faster than they can keep up.”
Squailia pointed to Fitchburg’s Community Electricity Aggregation program as one local effort to stabilize prices: “This has provided residents with greater price stability and, during periods when utility supply rates have risen substantially, has produced direct savings on monthly electric bills. We are also aggressively supporting housing production and the reuse of underutilized buildings.”
Fitchburg’s creative approach to utility costs demonstrates how some mayors are looking beyond traditional housing programs to tackle affordability from multiple angles. The focus on repurposing existing buildings rather than solely pursuing new construction also reflects the practical constraints many cities face in expanding their housing stock quickly.
Nearly 96% of mayors reported housing costs as the primary affordability concern for residents.
Mayors are responding to this crisis where they can, but federal partnership is essential to make life more affordable for Americans. pic.twitter.com/XNWQLx3nDl
— The United States Conference of Mayors (@usmayors) September 18, 2026
But local programs may not be enough. 82% of responding mayors said they need more resources or fewer regulations to address housing affordability.
This overwhelming majority reveals a critical disconnect between the scale of the problem mayors are facing and the tools currently at their disposal. The reference to both resources and regulations suggests mayors see obstacles coming from both funding limitations and bureaucratic barriers that slow down housing development and affordability initiatives.
And here’s the kicker: 56.3% of mayors said ending the Iran War would help address the affordability crisis by lowering gas prices.
The connection mayors are drawing between international conflict and local cost-of-living pressures highlights how global events are rippling through American household budgets. More than half of the surveyed mayors see geopolitical factors as directly impacting their residents’ daily expenses, particularly through energy costs that affect everything from commuting to heating bills to the price of transported goods.
The national average price of diesel reached an all-time high of $6.23 per gallon Tuesday, according to AAA.
Diesel prices carry particular significance beyond personal transportation, as the fuel powers the trucks that deliver groceries and other goods to communities nationwide. Rising diesel costs inevitably translate into higher prices across the economy, compounding the affordability challenges mayors identified in housing, groceries, and utilities.
The USCM — a nonpartisan organization for cities with populations of at least 30,000 — fielded the survey between Aug. 18 and Sept. 4.
