Housing remains a top issue for Massachusetts voters ahead of this year’s election, according to a new poll released by UMass Amherst and WCVB, as more residents report the state is on the “wrong track.”

When asked what the most important problem facing the state is, residents overwhelmingly point to “‘housing’ but also mention economic related concerns such as ‘cost,’ ‘inflation,’ ‘affordable’ and ‘economy,’ ” said Tatishe Nteta, UMass Amherst professor of political science and director of the poll.

The latest UMass Amherst/WCVB poll showed an upswing in the number of respondents, 41%, saying the state is on the “wrong track,” the most in four years and a 5% increase from the last poll in May.

The poll surveyed 700 Massachusetts voters from Oct. 3 to 10.

Among the biggest issues facing Massachusetts, poll respondents reported housing, immigration, the economy, costs and inflation.

National concerns remained high, with 58% saying the country is on the “wrong track” and 28% saying its headed in the “right direction,” similar to results in the May poll. Three out of four respondents also expressed concerns about violence associated with the presidential elections.

“Even in the solidly blue Bay State, there is clear concern about the state of the national economy and the direction of the country,” said poll co-director and political science associate professor Alexander Theodoridis. “In this environment, it is no surprise that both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are jockeying to position themselves as the change candidate in this year’s presidential election.”

Elected officials, including Gov. Maura Healey, Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, retained high approval ratings well over 50%.

Respondents reported mixed blame for the housing crisis, with interest rates ranking worst, 22%, followed by landlords, local governments, the state Legislature and housing contractors and builders.

The state’s “right to shelter” migrant policy also remains an issue for voters, but the policy retains strong support in the state. Fifty-seven percent of voters expressed support for the policy and 25% expressed opposition, compared to 61% approval and 22% opposition in May.

Voters were evenly split on the Healey administration’s change to the law limiting the number of families the state will grant shelter and the length they can remain in the shelter system. Respondents were evenly split on the impact, with 38% reporting the change was better for taxpayers and 38% saying it was worse.

“Interestingly, while many have painted the right to shelter law as unpopular, we find majoritarian support for the law across gender, generational, educational, class and racial groups,” Nteta said, noting sole majority opposition among Republicans and Trump supporters. … “(I)t remains likely that the right to shelter will remain a fixture of the state’s response to immigration for the foreseeable future.”

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