JACKSON, Miss (WJTV) – With high inflation, many Americans, including Mississippians, are facing economic problems. One of these includes the inability to pay utility bills.

According to Lending Tree, nearly 34% of Americans are forced to forge or skip other necessities for their household due to increased utilities due to inflation.

They analyzed data from the US Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. According to Lending Tree, 43% of Mississippi households have failed to pay for food and medicine in order to pay an energy bill in the past 12 months.

Twenty-four percent of these Mississippians have been unable to pay at least part of their energy bill in the past 12 months, and 20.8% of households have decided to maintain their temperature at unsafe conditions to reduce their bill.

Neighbors said they have seen their bills rise steadily in recent months.

“The cost of living is already at an all-time high, especially with the increase in housing,” said Hailey Donaldson, a local resident. “The last thing I want to worry about is utilities, but unfortunately I do.”

“It’s just a lot. Sometimes I blame COVID because before everything was fine, you know,” local resident Nick Richards said.

Lending Tree said Mississippi is ranked No. 16 in the United States for the percentage of households unable to pay at least part of their bill.