Who’s Buying American? Tracking the Surge in Demand for U.S. Goods

As foreign trade policies shift under new federal initiatives, interest in American-made products is on the rise. With the recent announcement of a “reciprocal” tariff plan by the Trump Administration, many consumers are re-evaluating where their goods come from—and what it means to buy domestic.

To better understand these trends, researchers at Trace One—a product lifecycle management software company—conducted a nationwide survey of U.S. adults and combined the results with search behavior data from Google Trends. This analysis explores how quickly interest in domestically-produced goods is increasing, the reasons consumers value them, how much more people are willing to pay, and which locations show the strongest demand.

Key Takeaways

• Interest in American-made products is rising: Google searches for "made in USA" have roughly doubled since the start of 2025, and 43% of Americans say their interest has increased over the past year.
• Supporting American jobs is the top motivator: Across all demographics, supporting American workers ranks as the top perceived benefit of buying domestic goods, though younger Americans are more skeptical of any benefits.
• Willingness to pay more varies widely: While no single group is eager to pay a large premium for U.S. products, Republicans and older Americans are more open to modest increases, while Gen Z is the most price sensitive.
• Rural northern regions show the most interest: States and metros in the Northeast, Mountain West, and along the Canadian border rank highest for “made in USA” searches, while interest is lower in the South and large urban centers.
• Tariffs may dampen spending: One-third of Americans say they would cut back overall spending if tariffs increased import prices by 10%, with others split on whether they’d switch to domestic goods based on cost.

A Growing Interest in American-Made Products

Source: Trace One analysis of Google Trends data

Americans’ interest in domestically-produced goods is growing rapidly. Since the beginning of 2025, online searches for the phrase "made in USA" have surged—nearly doubling in relative terms. Although current levels remain below the historic peak seen during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, they now surpass those recorded during the majority of the pandemic period and its aftermath.

This upward trend is mirrored in consumer attitudes. According to Trace One’s April 2025 survey, 43% of Americans said they’ve become more interested in buying American-made goods over the past year, while just 26% disagreed and 31% remained neutral. When asked which types of products they are most likely to seek out as domestically-produced, groceries topped the list, selected by 64% of respondents. This was followed by clothing and apparel (50%) and vehicles (42%), indicating interest in both everyday essentials and high-value purchases.

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The Perceived Benefits of Buying American-Made Products

Source: Trace One Made in American Survey 2025

Among American consumers, the most widely cited benefit of buying domestic goods is supporting American jobs and workers. This view holds across all major demographic groups, with nearly four in 10 respondents (39%) identifying it as the largest upshot of purchasing American-made products. However, the degree to which people rank this benefit depends on political views and age.

Among political affiliations, Democrats were the most likely to cite supporting U.S. jobs as the top benefit (44%), followed by independents (40%) and Republicans (35%). While supporting workers remained the top response for each group, Republicans were more likely than others to prioritize strengthening the economy (32%) and national security (12%). Independents, by contrast, showed the highest level of skepticism: 13% said they don’t believe there is any meaningful benefit to buying American-made goods—more than four times the rate of Republicans.

Generational divides also revealed differences. Older Americans—particularly Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation—were the most likely to select supporting American workers (48% and 47%, respectively). Younger respondents, including Generation Z, were less convinced: only 26% cited supporting U.S. workers as the primary benefit, while nearly a quarter (23%) said there were no meaningful benefits. Meanwhile, Millennials and Generation X were more likely than other age groups to select strengthening the U.S. economy.

How Much More Will Americans Pay for Domestic Products?

Source: Trace One Made in American Survey 2025

When it comes to paying a premium for American-made goods, the most common response across American adults is an unwillingness to pay more, though it's not a majority view. Overall, as the cost premium increases, the share of Americans willing to pay it steadily declines—but this pattern varies by group.

Among Democrats and independents, there is a clear drop-off in willingness to pay as the cost increases—most are only willing to pay a small premium, if at all. Republicans, on the other hand, stand out: their most common choice was a willingness to pay up to 5% more, followed by up to 10% more, and then an unwillingness to pay more. Notably, 9% of Republicans said they would pay up to 25% more, the highest share of any political or generational group.

Generational trends follow a similar pattern. Younger Americans—particularly Generation Z—are the most likely to say they won’t pay more, with a majority (53%) expressing that view. For Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X, willingness to pay declines steadily as the price premium rises. But among Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation, a small premium seems more acceptable—a willingness to pay up to 5% more was the most popular option in both of these older cohorts.

These findings suggest that younger Americans are the most price sensitive, while Republicans appear to be the most willing to pay a premium for goods produced domestically.

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Google Searches for "Made in USA" by Region

Source: Trace One analysis of Google Trends data

Google Trends data shows that interest in American-made goods is highest in rural northern states, especially across the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and Mountain West. States such as Wyoming, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont consistently report a greater share of “Made in USA” search activity, along with parts of the Upper Midwest. At the metro level, rural areas near the Canadian border—including Alpena and Traverse City-Cadillac in Michigan, Great Falls, Montana, and Duluth, Minnesota—stand out for their high share of American-made search queries.

By contrast, southern states and large urban centers tend to search less for American-made products. Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana are among the lowest-ranking states, and major metro areas like Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Atlanta, and Miami report some of the smallest proportions of “made in USA”-related searches.

While Google Trends data offers useful insight into geographic differences, it does not necessarily confirm who is actually purchasing American-made goods. The data reflects relative search popularity for “made in USA”-related searches, which acts as a proxy for consumer curiosity or intent, not confirmed buying behavior. That said, a close review of both the top and rising related queries shows that all were highly relevant to the theme. Examples include: “made in USA cars,” “clothing made in USA,” “tools made in USA,” and “are Teslas made in the USA.” This consistency suggests that these users are indeed looking for information about domestically manufactured products across a wide range of categories—even if it doesn't necessarily indicate actual purchasing behavior.

Final Thoughts: Will Tariffs Curtail Consumer Spending?

Source: Trace One Made in American Survey 2025

As U.S. trade policy continues to evolve, questions remain about how consumers will react and what the broader economic consequences may be. One key area of concern is whether higher costs on imported goods will lead to reduced consumer activity.

Trace One survey results suggest that a decline in overall consumer spending is a likely outcome. When asked how they would respond if tariffs caused a 10% increase in prices for imported goods, one-third of Americans (33%) said they would reduce how much they buy overall. Meanwhile, opinions on switching to American products were evenly split—some would make the switch even if it cost more (26%), while others would do so only if it saved them money (26%). The remaining 15% of respondents remained unsure what they would do in the event of higher prices.

While some consumers may shift their preferences in favor of American-made goods, the data underscores the challenge of balancing foreign trade objectives with household budgets—especially when costs are already high.

Full Results

Methodology

This analysis draws on data from two primary sources: Google Trends and a proprietary consumer survey conducted by Trace One. The Google Trends data captures search behavior across the United States over the past 12 months (5/7/24–5/6/25). The Trace One survey, conducted in April 2025 shortly after the Trump Administration announced its new “reciprocal” tariff policy, gathered responses from approximately 1,000 U.S. adults.

To identify the states and designated market areas (DMAs) with the greatest interest in American-made goods, Trace One ranked locations based on their relative search interest in the term "made in USA." Google Trends provides this data on a scale from 0 to 100. A value of 100 indicates the location with the highest number of searches for the specified term as a proportion of all searches within that area. By contrast, a value of 50 represents half the relative interest. Importantly, these values reflect the proportion of searches, not absolute search volume. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater total population—a proxy for total internet searches—was ranked higher.