Top issues facing the US: Inflation, affordable health care

Inflation and health care affordability top the public’s list of the biggest problems facing the country, with 62% of Americans describing inflation as a very big problem and 60% saying the same about health care costs.

Narrow majorities say that party collaboration (57%), drug addiction (55%) and gun violence (53%) are very big problems in the country today.

And roughly half say violent crime (51%), the federal budget deficit (49%), the state of moral values ​​(48%) and the quality of K-12 public schools (46%) are each very big problems.

Illegal immigration, climate change and racism are each lower on the public’s list of the country’s top problems, though most rate these and several other issues in the survey as at least moderately big problems.

Changes in views on the main problems of the country

Inflation ranks as the nation’s top issue in Pew Research Center surveys from 2023 and 2022, although its perceived importance is lower than it was in 2022. Today, 62% of Americans say inflation is a very big problem , from 70% in 2022.

Party differences in inflation views

• Eight in ten Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say inflation is a very big problem. A much smaller share of Democrats and Democratic-leaning 46% say the same.
• The percentage of Republicans who see inflation as a big problem has increased slightly over the past year (from 77% to 80%). In contrast, the percentage of Democrats who see inflation as a very big problem for the country has decreased by 6 percentage points during this period.

Federal budget deficit

A narrow majority of the public (53%) says the federal budget deficit is too big a problem. This has changed a bit in recent years.

Since Joe Biden took office in 2021, Republicans have consistently been about twice as likely as Democrats to describe the federal budget deficit as a very big problem for the country. Roughly seven in ten Republicans (71%) say this, compared to 35% of Democrats. During the Trump administration, there was no partisan gap in these views.

unemployment

Only a quarter of Americans, including similar shares of Republicans (27%) and Democrats (22%), describe unemployment as a very big problem. The percentage who see unemployment as a very big problem is essentially unchanged from 2022.

Illegal immigration

The percentage of the public who see illegal immigration as a very big problem has increased slightly over the past year, to 51% from 47%.

Nearly eight in ten Republicans (78%) say illegal immigration is a very big problem, up from 70% a year ago. By contrast, only 27% of Democrats say this, almost unchanged from the 25% of Democrats who said illegal immigration was a very big problem a year ago.

Crime and gun violence

Americans are less likely to see gun violence and violent crime as very big problems than they were a year ago. The shares of Republicans and Democrats who describe each as a very big problem have declined somewhat over the period.

Democrats are still much more likely than Republicans to view gun violence as a very big problem (68% of Democrats say so vs. 27% of Republicans). And it ranks as one of the top national issues seen by Democrats (as it did in 2023).

And Republicans continue to be more likely than Democrats (56% vs. 39%) to see violent crime as a very big problem for the country.

Climate change

About a third of Americans (36%) say climate change is a very big problem, down 11 points from 2021.

Democrats are 13 points less likely to say this than in 2021, when 71% of Democrats describe climate change as a very big problem. Republican views on the importance of climate change have fallen by 7 points since 2021.

Racism

Overall, 29% of Americans say racism is a very big problem. This is a significant decrease from 2021, when 45% said this. Among Democrats, the drop is particularly steep: 42% of Democrats now say racism is a very big problem in the country today, down from 67% in 2021.

(For views of Republicans and Democrats on all issues asked in this poll, please visit the overview of this report.)