The most important issue Americans are facing is health care, according to a new YouGov survey which asked about the importance of 22 issues. Americans also weighed in on how they believe the government should handle each issue — and responses vary by how important the issue is to people. The poll shows how the people who care most about each issue line up on some of the biggest policy debates surrounding the issue. For example: Americans who consider abortion important are more likely to favor legalizing it than are Americans overall; those who emphasize immigration as an issue are far more likely to favor deporting undocumented immigrants.
The issues that Americans are most likely to describe as very important are health care (67% say this is a very important issue to them), Social Security (66%), inflation (65%), education (59%), and crime (59%). Majorities also say that guns (58%), immigration (57%), and government spending (56%) are very important issues.
The issues Americans are most likely to describe as unimportant are LGBT issues (36% say it is unimportant), marijuana (25%), and student-loan debt (22%). Along with affirmative action, these are the issues the fewest Americans describe as very important.
For Democrats, the issues that the greatest shares describe as very important are health care (82%), guns (70%), Social Security (69%), and climate change (68%). Among Republicans, the most important issues are inflation (79%), immigration (78%), crime (71%), and government spending (71%). Independents are most likely to name the issues of health care (65%), Social Security (63%), inflation (62%), education (58%), and crime (58%) as very important to them.
Among adults under 30, the most important issues are health care (61%) and education (56%). For 30- to 44-year-olds, health care (68%) and education (66%) also top the list. Among 45 -to 64-year-olds, the issues the largest shares list as very important are Social Security (74%) and inflation (70%). For Americans 65 and older, the most important issues are Social Security (83% say this is very important) and immigration (73%).
How should the government handle health care?
Health care is the issue that the highest number of Americans say is very important to them. 67% of Americans say health care is a very important issue to them, and they have a different view of the best approach to the issue than everyone else does.
Among Americans who say the issue of health care is very important to them, 65% think the government should expand government-subsidized health insurance. 24% say the government should mostly stay out of the health insurance market, and the remaining 11% are unsure. This group is more likely to favor expanding government-subsidized health insurance than are Americans overall.
Among Democrats who say the issue is very important to them, 86% think the government should expand government-subsidized health insurance; fewer Independents (64%) and Republicans (35%) who consider the issue very important agree.
Social security: Should it be reformed or increased?
Among Americans who say Social Security is a very important issue to them, 73% think the government should increase Social Security benefits — a higher share than among Americans overall. Among 45- to 64-year-olds, many of whom are near the age at which they can begin collecting Social Security retirement benefits, 72% think the government should increase Social Security benefits. Among 45- to 64-year-olds who say the issue is very important to them, 82% think this.
How the government should handle inflation
Among Americans who say inflation is a very important issue for them, the majority (58%) think the government should keep interest rates low to encourage borrowing and investment. Fewer (18%) say the government should raise interest rates to combat inflation, and 23% are unsure. These opinions among the people very interested in the issue don't differ much from the views of Americans overall.
How Americans think the government should handle education
Education is another top issue for Americans: 59% say it’s very important to them. Among the people who say it’s very important, 64% think the government should increase funding for public schools — compared to 57% among Americans overall.
Among members of each party who say education is a very important issue, Democrats (84%) are more likely than Republicans (47%) to want the government to increase funding for public schools. Republicans are equally likely (46%) to say that the government should support school choice and vouchers for private education, a view that’s held by 11% of Democrats who say education is very important.
How Americans think the government should handle crime
Most Americans say crime is an important issue to them: 59% say it’s very important. Of the people who say it’s a very important issue to them, 64% think the government should crack down on crime — much higher than the 48% among Americans overall. Among Americans who say crime is very important, Republicans (79%) are especially likely to say the government should crack down; 63% of Independents and 43% of Democrats agree.
Among Democrats who say crime is a very important issue, 49% think the government should reduce prison sentences for non-violent offenders.
Most Americans who consider the issue of guns important would favor tighter restrictions on gun ownership
Guns are another topic that most Americans say is important. Among people who say the issue is very important to them, 63% say the government should tighten restrictions on gun ownership — compared to 54% of Americans overall. 90% of Democrats who say it’s an important issue agree with this, as do 53% of Independents and 35% of Republicans.
62% of Republicans who say guns are a very important issue think the government should keep gun laws the way they are.
Should the government provide undocumented immigrants with a pathway to citizenship or deport them?
Among the Americans who say immigration is a very important issue for them, there is more support for deporting undocumented immigrants (65%) than there is for providing undocumented immigrants with a pathway to citizenship (28%). Only 52% of Americans overall favor deportation when given this choice.
Most Democrats who find the issue very important support providing undocumented immigrants with a pathway to citizenship (59%), fewer Independents (32%) and Republicans (8%) agree.
Nearly nine in 10 Republicans who consider immigration to be a very important issue (87%) would support the government deporting undocumented immigrants. 60% of Independents and 30% of Democrats agree.
Should the government increase or decrease spending on social services?
Among Americans who think government spending is a very important issue, 45% think the government should increase spending on social services for low-income Americans. Fewer (30%) think the government should decrease funding for these services. The equivalent numbers for Americans overall are 52% and 25%.
Among Democrats who find the issue very important, 75% think the government should increase spending on social services; 40% of Independents and 30% of Republicans agree.
Most Americans who say taxation is an important issue think the government should increase taxes on the wealthy
Taxation is an issue that 52% of Americans say is very important. 59% of Americans who find it a very important issue say the government should increase taxes on the wealthy; 27% say the government should not do this. Those figures are roughly in line with overall opinion on the issue.
Majorities of Democrats (77%) and Independents (55%) who say taxation is a very important issue say the government should increase taxes on the wealthy. Nearly half (47%) of Republicans agree.
Americans are evenly split on whether the government should make it easier to vote or harder to commit vote fraud
The topic of voting access is particularly divisive. Among people who say this is a very important issue, 48% think the government should make it easier to vote while practically the same percentage (47%) say the government should make it harder to commit vote fraud. Americans overall lean more toward preventing vote fraud than easing vote access.
80% of Republicans who say this is a very important issue think the government should focus on making it harder to commit vote fraud; 46% of Independents and 24% of Democrats agree.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- Who would handle each of 15 issues better if elected: Joe Biden or Donald Trump?
- Which issues do Americans think the national media gives too much and not enough attention to?
- Which issues Americans care about most and how they evaluate their current congressional leaders
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: The YouGov poll was conducted online on February 8 - 11, 2024 among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
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