Top worry shifts quietly as overall anxiety dips across major economic and social issues
There’s a lot to be concerned about right now, with gas prices above $4 for the first time since 2022 and uncertainty about how the US-Iran conflict will play out. But for many Americans, their biggest concern is one that is rarely far from mind.
According to the latest Gallup survey, 61% of the US adults it polled in early March say they worry “a great deal” about healthcare, placing it ahead of every other issue tracked. About half of respondents report high levels of concern over the economy, inflation, federal spending and deficits, as well as income and wealth inequality.
Other issues, including immigration, unemployment, race relations and energy affordability, draw significantly lower levels of intense concern, with roughly one third of Americans citing them as major worries. Although energy costs have likely risen in the weeks since the March 18 end of the survey.
Healthcare consistently ranked as the top issue from 2015 through 2020 before being overtaken by inflation and broader economic stress in more recent years. But its return to the top is less about increasing alarm and more about declining concern elsewhere. Across all 16 issues measured, the average share of Americans expressing a “great deal” of worry fell to 43%, down from 46% last year and the lowest level since 2020.
Several categories saw pronounced declines. Concerns about Social Security and the economy each dropped by nine percentage points, while anxiety around crime and immigration also eased, driven largely by reduced concern among Republican respondents.
Inflation, one of the most closely watched issues in recent years, has also cooled, with 50% now reporting high concern, the lowest level recorded since Gallup began tracking it in 2022.
Gallup found no issue that saw a meaningful increase in concern this year. Instead, healthcare’s return to the top underscores its durability as a long-standing pressure point, particularly as costs and access challenges continue to weigh on households.
