Gallup regularly asks U.S. adults what they think are the country's most pressing challenges. The top five issues as of July run the gamut from economic woes and frustrations over the government to worries about the unity of the country.
Here are Five Facts on the top five issues Americans care about.
- Only twenty-two percent of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right most or all of the time.
This finding from Pew Research comes as 26 percent of Americans rank poor governance as the most important issue facing the country, the most for any single issue. Pew Research notes that faith in the government over the past three decades peaked in the wake of the 9/11 attacks at 54 percent and has trended downwards ever since.
- Immigrants account for nearly 14 percent of the U.S. populace.
Nineteen percent of Americans rank immigration as their most important issue, as concerns over the ongoing border security crisis remain high in communities across the country. Today, roughly 12 million undocumented individuals live in the U.S. and comprise about one-quarter of the foreign-born population in America. In 1970, immigrants accounted for only 4.7 percent of the population, meaning that the proportion of immigrants to native-born Americans has nearly tripled in the past 50 years.
- The U.S. economy grew 2.8 percent year-over-year as of July 2024.
America’s post-COVID economy continues to outpace much of the developed world, even as 16 percent of Americans rank the nation's overall economic health as their most important issue. However, many Americans remain more pessimistic about the economy now than they did pre-COVID, a phenomenon some economists have called a “vibecession.”
- Annualized inflation has fallen to 2.9 percent as of July 2024, compared to 7 percent in 2021.
Sixteen percent of Americans say the high cost of living and inflation remain the most important issue facing the country. Citing what they view as continuing high costs for groceries, rent, and other essential payments, 59 percent of U.S. adults in a recent survey believed the U.S. has been in a recession since March of 2023, although the U.S. economy continues to grow. In line with the financial strain felt by an increasing number of Americans, research by the New York Federal Reserve found that the credit card debt held by Americans hit a record $1.14 trillion in August, an increase of 5.8 percent year-over-year.
- Forty-seven percent of Americans believe another civil war could happen in their lifetimes.
This finding by a May Marist College poll helps explain why six percent of Americans rank national unity as the country's most important issue. Two-thirds of Americans report feeling exhausted by the divided nature of our politics and 86 percent believe the two parties “are more focused on fighting each other than on solving problems.” Concerningly, one in five Americans believe violence may be necessary to get the country back on track.
