Among Americans' many identities, their age and political party is the basis for sharing the most common interests and concerns, a recent survey shows. Fewer Americans say they share the most in common based on gender, religion, geography, money, or race.
27% of Americans say they share the most common interests and concerns with people in the same age group, among seven options asked about in the survey. 24% say they have the most in common with people who identify with the same political party. 17% think they have the most in common with people who live near them; the same percentage (17%) say they share the most in common with people of the same gender.
Democrats and Republicans both are most likely to say the group they share the most common interests and concerns with is people who identify with the same political party (32% and 31%).
Among the biggest differences by party: 27% of Republicans and 11% of Democrats say they share the most common interests and concerns with people of the same religion. 6% of Republicans and 19% of Democrats say people of their racial or ethnic background are the group they share the most common interests and concerns with. 12% of Republicans and 20% of Democrats say they have the most in common with people of the same gender.
We've asked the same question repeatedly since 2017, most recently in 2020. The share of Americans saying each of these identities is the basis for the most common interests and concerns has changed little.
33% of Americans say they share a lot of common interests and concerns with people of their own gender, but the majority (56%) say gender is not really relevant. Women (42%) are more likely than men (24%) to say they have a lot of common interests and concerns with people of the same gender.
The share of women emphasizing gender as an identity has increased since we first posed the question, to 42% from 33% in 2017. The share of men emphasizing common interests and concerns based on gender, by contrast, is roughly the same as it was in 2017.
The majority of Americans who are Democrats or Republicans say they share a lot of common interests and concerns with other people in their party — 55% say this. 53% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans feel this way. 31% of Americans — including 28% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans — say partisanship is not really relevant. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be unsure (19% vs. 8%).
23% of Americans say they have a lot of common interests and concerns based on race and ethnicity while 61% say this factor is not really relevant. Black Americans (42%) are more likely than Hispanic Americans (26%) or white Americans (19%) to say they have a lot of common interests and concerns that they share with people of their racial background.
The shares of Black and Hispanic Americans saying they share a lot of interests and concerns based on race and ethnicity rose in 2019 and 2020, but since have fallen. The share of white Americans who say they share things in common with other white people has fallen slightly, to 19% from 23% in 2017.
35% of Americans say they share a lot of common interests and concerns with other people who are about the same age as they are; 52% say age is not really relevant.
Adults under 30 (41%) and Americans 65 and older (37%) are more likely than other adults (32%) to say they share a lot of common interests and concerns with other people of their age.
The survey also explored money and religion.
34% of Americans say they share a lot of common interests and concerns with people who have about the same amount of money as they do while 50% say it’s not really relevant.
32% of Americans say they have a lot in common with people who share their religious beliefs, while 54% say this is not really relevant. Protestants (54%) are more likely to say they share common interests and concerns based on religion.
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- Harris vs. Trump on the issues: Whose policies do voters prefer?
- Times/SAY24 poll shows Harris leading as Americans split on whether our best days are behind us or ahead of us
- How much do Americans want to change the American way of life?
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on October 15 - 17, 2024 among 1,153 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: Getty
