Inflation and the ability of Democrats and Republicans to work together 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 this about bipartisan cooperation.
Narrower majorities say that the affordability of healthcare (57%), drug addiction (55%) and the federal budget deficit (53%) are very big problems in the country today.
And roughly half say that illegal immigration (51%), gun violence (49%), violent crime (48%) and the state of moral values (46%) are each very big problems.
The quality of public K-12 schools, climate change and international terrorism each rate lower on the public’s list of the country’s top problems, though majorities rate these and several other issues included in the survey as at least moderately big problems.
CORRECTION (July 18, 2024): The chart, “Inflation, bipartisan cooperation top Americans’ list of top problems facing the country,” has been updated. Due to a labeling error, most of the percentages were not aligned with the correct category. The title of the chart and text in the above section was also updated to reflect these changes.
Changes in views of the country’s top problems
Inflation ranked as the country’s top issue in Pew Research Center surveys from 2023 and 2022, though its perceived importance is lower than it was in 2022. Today, 62% of Americans say inflation is a very big problem, down from 70% in 2022.
Partisan differences in views of inflation
- Eight-in-ten Republicans and independents who lean to the Republican Party say that inflation is a very big problem. A far smaller share of Democrats and Democratic leaners – 46% – say the same.
- The share of Republicans who see inflation as a big problem is up slightly over the past year (from 77% to 80%). In contrast, the share of Democrats seeing inflation as a very big problem for the country has decreased by 6 percentage points over this period.
Federal budget deficit
A narrow majority of the public (53%) says the federal budget deficit is a very big problem. This is little changed 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 with 35% of Democrats. During the Trump administration, there was no partisan gap in these views.
Unemployment
Just a quarter of Americans – including similar shares of Republicans (27%) and Democrats (22%) – describe unemployment as a very big problem. The share who view unemployment as a very big problem is essentially unchanged since 2022.
Illegal immigration
The share of the public that views illegal immigration as a very big problem has increased slightly in 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. In contrast, just 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 view both gun violence and violent crime as very big problems than they were a year ago. The shares of both Republicans and Democrats who describe each of these as a very big problem are down somewhat over this period.
Democrats are still far more likely than Republicans to see gun violence as a very big problem (68% of Democrats say this vs. 27% of Republicans). And it ranks as one of the top national problems seen by Democrats (as it did in 2023).
And Republicans continue to be more likely than Democrats (56% vs. 39%) to view 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 since 2021.
Democrats are 13 points less likely to say this than they were in 2021, when 71% of Democrats described climate change as a very big problem. Republicans’ views of the importance of climate change have declined by 7 points since 2021.
Racism
Overall, 29% of Americans say racism is a very big problem. This is a substantial decline since 2021, when 45% said this. Among Democrats, the decline is particularly steep: 42% of Democrats now say that racism is a very big problem in the country today, down from 67% in 2021.
(For Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of all problems asked about in this survey, please visit the overview of this report.)
