"(The) top issue for college students is the economy."
The midterm election is right around the corner and the economy and abortion rights are the top issues of concern for college students according to a new survey by BestColleges.com. These issues are also ranked as the most important for Americans overall. BestColleges.com surveyed over 1000 students about their political beliefs and plans to vote. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of those surveyed noted the economy, inflation, and employment as the most important issues in this election. Students are worried about finding jobs, their future finances, and the growing cost of everything from housing to peanut butter. White college men, in particular, are overwhelmingly concerned about the economy, employment, and inflation, with almost half (49%) selecting these three issues as their top political issues — a significantly higher percentage than other demographic groups surveyed. Abortion rights, which have been the subject of heated national and local political campaigns, were ranked as a top concern by college students with 33% of those surveyed ranking these rights as a top issue. College women were particularly concerned about legislation having an impact on their bodies. While college men chose the economy as their top issue (44%), abortion rights were the most important issue for college women (43%), with women of color expressing the deepest concern. Only 21% of college men considered abortion rights an important issue. For college men, the economy, gun policy, healthcare, racial and ethnic inequality, and climate change all came out ahead of abortion rights as leading issues.