What the U.S. Is Most Worried About

raquelgoulartra
1 day ago
2 min read

This article is published in collaboration with Statista

by Anna Fleck

Statista’s Consumer Insights survey has been tracking which issues adults in the United States consider to be the most important in the country right now, and how they have shifted over time. The following chart provides just a snapshot of these, listing the eight most cited concerns out of a possible 20 options, in the most recent survey wave as well as in the survey wave at the start of the pandemic.

Where health and social security came first in the earlier iteration, likely in reference to Covid, it had dropped by six percentage points by 2024/25. In the meantime, inflation and the cost of living has risen from third position to first position (+12 p.p). Other notable changes include a drop in the share of people citing immigration in the latest wave and a slight increase in the share of people picking crime. Six of the eight most recent most pressing issues are social, with the sole environmental topic of climate change having dropped off the list, coming in 11th position with 26 percent of respondents picking it, following education with 32 percent and food and water security with 28 percent.

As this chart shows, poverty and housing are now on the minds of more U.S. adults, at least more imminently, than before. Where poverty had previously tied in 9th position with education in 2019/20 with a 32 percent share of respondents picking it as one the most important issues facing the country right now, the share rose to 35 percent in the latest survey wave. Similarly, where housing had been in rank 11 with 22 percent, it has now risen to position four, with 39 percent of respondents selecting the option.

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