A new YouGov survey finds that for the third year in a row, the problem Americans are most likely to see as very serious — among 32 polled about — is inflation. Compared to 2022 and 2023, the shares of Americans who describe anti-Semitism and illegal immigration as very serious problems have increased in 2024.
In 2024, the problem Americans are most likely to see as very serious is inflation (67%). In 2023, 68% viewed this as a very serious problem; in 2022, 64% did.
Concern around anti-Semitism has grown in the last year: 31% now say it is a very serious problem in the U.S., compared to 23% in both 2022 and 2023.
Illegal immigration also has seen an increase in the share of Americans who consider it a very serious problem, from 43% in 2022 to 49% in 2023 and 53% now.
The biggest shift between 2023 and 2024 has been the decrease in the number of Americans who say violent crime is a very serious problem. 62% saw violent crime this way in 2023 while 53% say the same now.
Among Democrats, the issues that the greatest shares describe as a very serious problem are gun violence (81%), climate change (75%), poverty (70%), homelessness (70%), and a lack of access to health care (66%). The issues that Republicans are most likely to describe as very serious problems are inflation (89%), illegal immigration (86%), debt (66%), corruption (66%), and drug abuse (66%).
Of the 32 problems — or potential problems — included in the survey, there are none that a majority consider to be “not a problem.” 26% of U.S. adult citizens say LGBT discrimination is not a problem and 23% say this about COVID-19. Republicans are most likely to describe LGBT discrimination as not a problem (41%). Democrats are most likely to say election fraud is not a problem (37%).
Women are more likely than men to say many problems are very serious. Among the biggest gaps in men’s and women’s perceptions of the seriousness of problems: 67% of women and 51% of men see homelessness as a very serious problem, while 47% of women and 31% of men say domestic violence is a very serious problem.
Other problems with significant gender gaps include suicide (50% vs. 37%), poverty (63% of women vs. 51% of men consider this very serious), gun violence (61% vs. 49%), and LGBT discrimination (29% vs. 17%).
Men and women are about equally likely to say inflation, illegal immigration, and climate change are very serious problems.
Adults under 30 are most likely to describe homelessness (59%) and gun violence (59%) as very serious problems, while older Americans are likeliest to say inflation (69%) and debt (61%) are very serious problems.
Adults under 30 (51%) are more likely than older Americans (32%) to believe police brutality is a very serious problem; the age gap is even greater for sexual harassment (49% vs. 26%). By contrast, only 30% of adults under 30 say illegal immigration is a very serious problem, compared to 59% of older Americans — including 65% of those 65 and older.
Related:
- Harris gains ground against Trump on the handling of key issues
- What Americans think about crime and Kamala Harris' approach to it
- More Americans see violent crime and corruption as serious national problems than as local ones
- How Americans want the government to handle the issues that matter most to them
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov poll.
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on August 7 - 10, 2024 among 1,138 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. 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%.
Image: (Spencer Platt / Staff)
