AP-NORC Poll: Extreme Heat Reshaping Americans’ Daily Lives
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that Americans are increasingly feeling the personal impact of extreme heat on their daily routines, from electricity bills to travel plans and family activities. The survey of 1,165 U.S. adults, conducted July 23-27, shows significant increases in reported impacts compared with a similar poll in July 2024.
Electricity Bills Hit Hardest
About 8 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had a “major” or “minor” impact on their electricity bills over the last year, up from 69% in July 2024. The increase was particularly pronounced in the Midwest, where just under half of residents (44%) report a “major” impact on their utility costs, up from 29% two years ago.
Daemien Williams, a 50-year-old bridge inspector from Cahokia Heights, Illinois, told AP he has watched his utility costs climb steadily. “I feel like my utility costs probably doubled in the last three or four years,” Williams said. “I do look at my bills pretty in detail and see that the kilowatts and the usage is actually up, not just the price that they’re charging for it.”
Rising household electricity prices have become an increasingly prominent political issue, and extreme weather is one factor driving higher energy consumption as Americans rely more heavily on air conditioning.
Travel and Outdoor Activities Disrupted
The poll found that around 4 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has impacted their travel or vacation plans, up from about one-quarter in 2024. Elisa Bracamonte, a 74-year-old retired nurse from Tucson, Arizona, said the heat has disrupted summer gatherings with family across the region.
“It has affected my entire family because we usually get together a lot during the summer,” Bracamonte said. “We have family in Texas and we have family in upper Arizona. And we’ve seen that there’s been a lot more fires, a lot of more flooding, all that. So that kind of inhibits our plans to travel.”
Around 7 in 10 Americans report that extreme heat has affected their family’s outdoor activities, compared with about 6 in 10 in 2024. Sean Conway, a 41-year-old direct marketer from Massachusetts, said his children’s soccer practices have been postponed or canceled due to extreme temperatures.
Regional and Political Differences
Much of the shift in reported impacts was concentrated among residents of the West and Midwest, regions that have experienced some of the most severe heat events in recent years. In the West, 35% of respondents described heat as having a “major impact” on their outdoor activities, higher than the national average.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say extreme heat has had a “major” impact on each item asked about in the survey, according to Al Jazeera.
Climate Change Belief Remains Stable
Despite growing personal impacts, the share of Americans who believe climate change is happening declined slightly to 66%, down from 73% in September 2025. About 17% say they are not sure, and 15% say climate change is not happening.
John Hazel, a 33-year-old crime scene investigator from Waco, Texas, who identifies as a conservative Republican, said he has noticed significant changes since his childhood. “When I was a kid, that seemed like a very rare thing when it did hit 100, everybody was like, whoa. And now it’s just every day,” Hazel said. “Seasons felt a little more balanced. Now it feels like summer’s a bit lingering, it starts earlier and lasts longer.”
Scientists Warn of Intensifying Heat
The poll findings align with broader climate trends. Scientists calculated that Earth’s average temperature in 2025 was among the three hottest on record, along with 2024 and 2023. The U.S. has sweltered under dangerous heat domes over the past few years, with roughly 55 million people placed under heat alerts in early August 2026.
Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, said the survey results are unsurprising. “Brutal, life-threatening heat waves have become more frequent, more intense, and more persistent in many parts of the globe, including our Western and Midwestern states,” Francis said. “Extreme heat compounded with long dry spells have affected our health directly, along with indirect effects on our wallets.”
Extreme heat kills more people every year than all other weather-related events combined, with the CDC estimating more than 1,220 deaths annually connected to heat as a contributing or underlying cause. In 2023, 2,300 people died that summer due to heat-related conditions, the highest rate in 45 years of records, as AP reported.
What to Watch
As the 2026 midterm election season approaches, rising electricity costs and the tangible effects of extreme weather could become significant political issues. The poll’s finding that personal experiences with extreme heat are increasing—even as belief in climate change remains stable—raises questions about how these trends will shape public discourse and policy in the coming years.
The poll of 1,165 adults was conducted July 23-27, 2026, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.