The survey of 800 Americans across the country was conducted March 13-16 by Hart-McInturff, Democratic and Republican pollsters. It had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.  Two political themes are evident in the data: First, views of Republicans remain unwaveringly downbeat. Just 14 percent believe the economy will improve in the next year, unchanged from last year. But views of Democrats have also taken a step down. A year ago, 53 percent of Democrats thought the economy would improve. In the current survey, that's fallen to 44 percent.  US home sales plunge, yet consumers grow more confident  However, for better or worse, the data show that a precrisis gap between rich and poor is returning. Before the recession, those with incomes above $100,000 were far more upbeat on the economy than those with incomes below $30,000. The survey showed a 25-point gap between the two groups. The gap fell to just 6 points in 2012, suggesting that the economic downturn and weak recovery had strong impacts on both the wealthy and the poor. But the gap is returning slowly, rising to 12 points in the current survey. That could be a sign of better wage, home price or stock gains experienced by wealthy Americans.  Around 54 percent of those with more than $50,000 in the market see this as a good time to invest, unchanged from last year. Despite a 20 percent rise in stocks in the past year, just 28 percent of those without stocks think this is a good time to invest, up from 25 percent a year ago. Those with less than $50,000 in the market actually became more pessimistic on stocks, with only 43 percent saying it's a good time to invest, down from 52 percent a year ago.  Read MoreBeing poor not a person's fault: CNBC survey
More than 80 percent view the economy as just fair or poor, almost unchanged from the fourth-quarter, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey.