Looking Back: What 2025 Taught Us
In 2025, we tracked legislation across seven policy areas and more than 36 priorities across the South. This approach gave us a wide-angle view of how state policy shapes opportunity, well-being, and community life across the region.
It also highlighted a guiding principle for the year ahead: depth fosters clarity and connection. By focusing where data, values, and opportunity converge, we can strengthen our contribution to a South rooted in dignity, fairness, and shared belonging.
Across surveys, polling, and legislative trends, Southerners are remarkably consistent about what they care most about. A set of issues — deeply connected to dignity, fairness, opportunity, and voice — rises to the top again and again.
EPU’s 2025 Survey of the South reinforces a clear pattern across the region: economic strain, housing costs, and uncertainty about future opportunity remain top concerns across race and geography. The cost of housing and rent ranks as the most prominent community challenge, and the high cost of living is the most commonly cited barrier to personal economic stability.
At the same time, while strong majorities report feeling connected to their communities, fewer than half trust local government to address the issues they face, and many believe some groups will have fewer opportunities in the years ahead.
These findings point toward a focused path forward: strengthening economic stability, expanding opportunity, and reinforcing civic trust where it matters most. In 2026, we are aligning our policy work with this evidence and narrowing our focus so we can go deeper, tell stronger stories, and better resource Southern leaders.
Our 2026 Policy Focus
In 2026, EPU’s policy work will center on four priority areas where public concern and practical policy solutions intersect. On other issues, we will continue to monitor developments and uplift partners’ expertise.
At the core of this shift is a shared guiding principle:
We are working toward a South where division has no hold and people thrive together in dignity, fairness, and shared prosperity.
This vision anchors how we select priorities, analyze legislation, and engage policymakers and partners. These areas will guide how we examine legislation, elevate emerging trends, and contribute to conversations shaping the South.
Economic Security & Opportunity
- What the data shows: Cost of living, wages, and economic stability consistently rank as top concerns for Southerners across race and geography.
- Our focus: Wages, worker protections, and pathways to economic mobility that allow families to thrive.
- What we’re watching in 2026: Proposals addressing wage standards, workforce development, and job quality reflect continued legislative momentum around economic stability.
Housing & Living Stability
- What the data shows: Southern states face higher housing cost burdens and eviction rates than national averages, with rising energy and utility pressures.
- Our focus: Housing affordability, stabilization, and policies that support safe, energy-efficient homes.
- What we’re watching in 2026: Legislation related to eviction prevention, housing supply, zoning reform, and energy efficiency highlights growing attention to housing stability across the region.
Literacy & Education Equity
- What the data shows: Literacy remains foundational to long-term opportunity, and several Southern states — including Mississippi and Louisiana — have demonstrated measurable gains in early reading outcomes in recent years. Momentum is building across the region as states invest in structured literacy and teacher support.
- Our focus: Strengthening and sustaining progress in early literacy, ensuring reforms are implemented effectively, and supporting policies that help more children access high-quality reading instruction.
- What we’re watching in 2026: Ongoing literacy reforms, educator training investments, and funding decisions that determine whether recent gains are scaled and sustained across the South.
Democracy & Civic Participation
- What the data shows: While many Southerners feel connected to their communities, trust in institutions remains uneven, and a significant number report feeling limited in their ability to influence decision-making.
- Our focus: Protecting meaningful participation, fair representation, and the integrity of civic processes so that every Southerner’s voice carries weight.
- What we’re watching in 2026: Election administration proposals, redistricting developments, and legislation affecting ballot access and civic participation during a consequential election year for the region and the country, with a recognition that policies adopted now will shape democratic stability for years to come.
Additional Areas of Engagement
Alongside our 2026 focus areas, we will continue to engage across other critical issues shaping life in the South. These areas remain important to families and communities, and we will track major developments, elevate partner expertise, and contribute where they intersect with our core priorities.
Areas we will continue to follow include:
- Healthcare & Family Well-Being
- Clean Energy & Environmental Stewardship
- Public Safety & Criminal Legal Reform
This approach allows us to concentrate our deeper analysis and engagement where public concern and practical policy solutions most directly align, while remaining attentive to the broader policy environment.
What This Means for Our Work in 2026
In 2026, our policy work will be defined by clarity and focus.
We are concentrating our deepest analysis and engagement where public concern and practical policy solutions most clearly intersect. This approach allows us to elevate meaningful trends, engage leaders with greater precision, and strengthen public understanding across the region.
We will continue to amplify partners advancing critical work and draw on insights emerging from communities where local innovation is shaping progress.
Grounded in evidence and shared values, this focused approach positions us to contribute to a South where dignity, fairness, opportunity, and voice are strengthened not just in principle, but in practice.
Looking Ahead: Navigating Change, Advancing Opportunity
This year has brought both renewed challenges and important opportunities across the region. From efforts to modernize workforce development and expand access to housing, to proposed changes in election systems and environmental regulations, the legislative landscape continues to evolve in ways that demand attention, action, and collaboration.
Our commitment remains the same: to ensure that all people, regardless of background or geography, have the opportunity to live in safe, thriving communities. As policy shifts unfold across the region, we’ll continue monitoring developments, sharing timely updates, and supporting leaders and communities working to advance practical, people-focused solutions.
Thank you for staying connected and engaged with our work. We look forward to continuing this journey as we work to bridge divides and foster connections across differences.