White Americans without college degrees are more dissatisfied with the state of the economy than other demographics, a phenomena that many believe has fueled the surprise candidacy of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Over half of so-called 'working class white' – 53 per cent – say they are unhappy with the direction of the economy, while 25 per cent said they are somewhat dissatisfied, according to a CNN poll.

Sixty-four per cent of white college graduates, meanwhile, said they were dissatisfied, while 74 per cent of working class blacks said the same, CNN reports.

A little over half – 54 per cent – of working class Hispanics said they were dissatisfied.

The dearth of products that are manufactured domestically coupled with the ballooning national debt make working class whites more pessimistic about the country's future

The survey conducted by CNN found that blue-collar whites from rural America are worried that their children's standard of living will not be as high as theirs once they reach adulthood.

Even though their personal financial situation may be satisfactory, they say that the national debt coupled with the movement of jobs overseas makes them apprehensive about the future.

Half of working class whites say that their children will have a worse standard of living, according to the poll.

That is higher than the 35 per cent of white college graduates who agreed, the 43 per cent of working class blacks who said the same, and the 31 per cent of Hispanics.

'We're not making anything,' said Pete McGuire, a native of Mansfield Center, Connecticut.

McGuire runs a landscaping company with his wife. He says he is discouraged by the dearth of products that are manufactured domestically.

The survey found that 42 per cent of working class whites either received a raise or knew someone in their household who did, while 54 per cent of whites with degrees said the same

'I'd be willing to pay a little more to buy something made in the USA to keep somebody working here,' he said.

McGuire said that his daughters are 'making ends meet by the skin of their teeth.'

He never had to contend with that level of economic insecurity since he spent most of his working life in an economy that offered more opportunity.

'When was the last time a factory worker got a pay raise of more than a dime or a quarter?' he said.

The CNN survey found that just 42 per cent of working class whites either received a raise or knew someone in their household who did, while over half of whites with college degrees - 54 per cent – said the same.

Half of working class whites say that their children will have a worse standard of living, according to the poll

Despite the pessimism, some say attitudes about the economy depend in large part to the current political climate.

Since working class whites are more likely to support the Republican Party, they are thus more inclined to express a dimmer view since Barack Obama, a Democrat, has been in the White House for the past eight years.

'People are more likely to the take the party line about the state of the economy than their own private economic circumstances,' said Gary Burtless, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.

'If we had a President [John] McCain or a President [Mitt] Romney, they'd say the economy isn't so bad.'

McCain was the Republican nominee who lost to Obama in 2008, while Romney lost to the incumbent president in 2012.

Another factor feeding the resentment felt by white working class Americans is the sense that their views are dismissed as backwards and primitive.