Poll Shows Extreme Heat’s Growing Toll on American Daily Life

A new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey documents how extreme heat is reshaping the daily routines and financial realities of millions of Americans across the country. The findings reveal a significant uptick since July 2024 in residents reporting that dangerous temperatures have disrupted their sleep, vacations, electricity consumption and family activities, with the most pronounced changes occurring in western and midwestern states.

Elisa Bracamonte, a 74-year-old retired nurse from Tucson, Arizona, exemplifies the shifting reality many residents face. She has adjusted her morning walks to begin at 5 a.m. to avoid the worst heat, sacrificing sleep in the process, and has scaled back summer travel to visit relatives across the region due to intensifying wildfires and extreme conditions that make outdoor gatherings increasingly untenable.

Roughly 80 percent of Americans now report that extreme heat has either majorly or minorly impacted their electricity bills over the past year, compared with 69 percent in July 2024. In the Midwest specifically, 44 percent of residents cite a major impact on their utility costs, up sharply from 29 percent two years prior, as households run air conditioning systems longer and harder throughout summer months.

Vacation and travel plans have become increasingly constrained by extreme temperatures. Approximately 40 percent of Americans say heat has substantially affected their leisure travel, a jump from roughly 25 percent in 2024. Around 70 percent report that family outdoor activities have been disrupted or limited, compared with approximately 60 percent the previous year.

Scientists have documented that Earth’s average temperature in 2025 ranked among the three hottest years on record, alongside 2024 and 2023. Heat-related deaths now outpace fatalities from all other weather events combined, while simultaneously driving increased wildfire risk, straining electrical grids and devastating agricultural production across multiple regions.

Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to report major impacts from extreme heat across nearly all measured categories. However, some conservative respondents, including John Hazel, a 33-year-old crime scene investigator in Waco, Texas, acknowledge observable changes from childhood, noting that temperatures exceeding 100 degrees have shifted from rare occurrences to routine summer expectations.

Despite these tangible lifestyle disruptions, belief in climate change has remained relatively stable. About 66 percent of Americans affirm that climate change is occurring, down slightly from 73 percent in September 2025, while 17 percent remain uncertain and 15 percent reject the premise entirely.

The survey of 1,165 adults was conducted from July 23-27, 2026, using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. The margin of sampling error for the overall adult population is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.