Americans say the economy is a top election issue. Here's how economists are grading it.

Millions of Americans say the economy is a top issue as they decide how to cast their vote.

By many measures, the U.S. economy has regained its footing, emerging from the health crisis with the type of growth that it experienced prior to 2020 .

Yet many Americans might scoff at such bullish assessments: 6 in 10 now rate the economy as either "fairly bad" or "very bad," according to CBS News polling.

Americans without a bachelor's degree are much more negative about the economy than those with a college education.

The disparity may point to decades of lagging wage growth for workers with only high school degrees.

Americans with college degrees have seen their income and wealth surge during the past several decades .

Inflation, meanwhile, hashitting 2.4% in September , the most recent Consumer Price Index shows.

Only 6 in 10 Americans own stocks, and more than half of workers to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Americans "aren't benefiting from record stock prices," Zandi says.

Only 4 in 10 say equity prices are higher than at the start of the year .