Several Economic Issues Seen as Top National Problems by Americans

Sharp rise in the share of Democrats who view ‘the state of moral values’ as a very big national problem

How we did this

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ views of problems facing the country.

For this analysis, we surveyed 5,086 adults from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Surveys were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

Here are the questions used for this report, the topline and the survey methodology.

At the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Americans see a host of economic issues – from inflation to the affordability of health care and the federal budget deficit – as top problems facing the country.

Chart shows Health care costs, inflation and federal deficit are top concerns for public; unemployment remains low

With most adults continuing to say the nation’s economy is in only fair (45%) or poor (31%) shape, large shares of the public – including majorities of Republicans and Democrats – see multiple economic considerations as very big national problems.

Today, 63% say inflation is a very big problem for the country. This is comparable to last May and down from a high of 70% in 2022.

At the same time, the share of adults who say the affordability of health care is a very big national problem has risen 10 percentage points since last year: Today, 67% say this, up from 57% in 2024. There has also been an uptick in the share of Americans who see the federal deficit as a very big problem (53% then, 57% today), driven mostly by rising deficit concern among Democrats.

One exception is unemployment. As has been the case for the last three years, only about a quarter say it is a very big problem for the country.

How Americans rank national problems

Roughly seven-in-ten Americans say “the role of money in politics” is a very big problem in the country today – the highest share of any of the 24 items asked about on the survey.

Chart shows Economic issues top the public’s list of national concerns – including the role of money in politics

The affordability of health care (67%), inflation (63%), the federal budget deficit (57%) and the number of Americans living in poverty (53%) are also among the public’s top concerns.

About half or more see the ability of Republicans and Democrats to work together (56%), drug addiction (51%) and the state of moral values (50%) as very big problems in the country today.

Far smaller shares of the public see terrorism, racism or climate change as very big problems for the nation – though Republicans and Democrats disagree about the severity of some of these problems.

Note: Refer to the topline for a full list of the 24 items asked about. The lowest four items are not shown here.

Republicans less worried about partisan cooperation, political system

There have been notable declines in the shares of Republicans who say “the ability of Democrats and Republicans to work together” and that “the way the U.S. political system operates” are very big national problems.

Chart shows Decline in the share of Republicans who say partisan cooperation is a very big problem

The ability of Republicans and Democrats to work together

In May 2024, 57% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said the ability of Democrats and Republicans to work together was a very big problem for the country. This has dropped to 48% today.
Nearly two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic leaners continue to see partisan relations as a very big national problem (63% a year ago vs. 64% today).

The way the U.S. political system operates

In 2019, 48% of Republicans said the way the U.S. political system operates was a very big problem; 40% say this today.
Democrats’ views are little changed over this period (54% then vs. 56% today).

Democrats increasingly concerned about agreement on basic facts, state of moral values

Chart shows Democrats increasingly concerned about facts, state of moral values in U.S.

Republicans and Democrats are moving in different directions when it comes to whether Americans’ level of agreement on the basic facts and the state of moral values in the country today are big problems for the nation.

Americans’ level of agreement on basic facts

46% of Democrats said in 2018 that “Americans’ level of agreement on the basic facts about issues and events” was a very big problem for the country. Today, 58% say this.
By contrast, there has been a 7-point decline in the share of Republicans who view this as a very big problem over this same period (39% then, 32% now).

The state of moral values

About a year ago, 32% of Democrats said “the state of moral values” was a very big problem. This has jumped to 51% today.
There has been a 13-point decline in the share of Republicans saying the state of moral values is a very big problem since last year (61% then, 48% now).

Partisans’ views of the nation’s problems

Chart shows Wide partisan differences in views of climate change, illegal immigration and guns as national problems

Republicans and Democrats generally agree on the severity of several issues facing the country – including the role of money in politics and the affordability of health care.

But Republicans and Democrats see other issue areas differently:

Among Republicans

Illegal immigration (73%) and inflation (73%) remain the top concerns for Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

Among Democrats

The role of money in politics is the top concern (78%), followed by the affordability of health care (73%), gun violence (69%) and climate change (67%).

There are particularly wide partisan gaps on the extent to which climate change and illegal immigration are seen as problems.

There are also at least 20-point gaps on each of the following issues:

Americans’ level of agreement on the basic facts about issues and events (32% of Republicans vs. 58% of Democrats say this is a very big problem)
The number of Americans living in poverty (40% of Republicans, 65% of Democrats)
The impact of natural disasters (33% of Republicans, 54% of Democrats)
Inflation (73% of Republicans, 53% of Democrats)
Racism (15% of Republicans, 55% of Democrats)

Republicans and Democrats are more closely aligned in their views on the severity of the following issues:

The quality of public K-12 schools (45% of Republicans, 45% of Democrats)
Domestic terrorism (32% of Republicans, 36% of Democrats)
The state of moral values (48% of Republicans, 51% of Democrats)

Large gaps between Democrats, Republicans on immigration, gun violence, climate, racism

Chart shows Larger shares of Democrats see climate change, racism as major national problems than Republicans

Over the past decade, a number of issues have been marked by deep partisan divides, with some of the issues that rank among the top concerns for one party ranking among the lowest for the other.

Illegal immigration

For instance, 73% of Republicans say illegal immigration is a very big problem in the nation, while just 23% of Democrats say the same. The partisan gap on this question has ranged between 40 and 50 points for most of the last decade.

Gun violence

While 69% of Democrats see gun violence as a very big problem, just 26% of Republicans say the same. This 43-point gap is typical of the past decade.

Climate change

There is a 54-point gap in the share of Democrats (67%) and Republicans (13%) who rate climate change as a very big problem facing the nation, also similar to previous years. Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to see “the impact of natural disasters” as a very big problem, though the partisan gap on these views is more modest (54% of Democrats vs. 33% of Republicans).

Racism

Democrats have also consistently been much more likely than Republicans to say racism is a very big problem in the country. Today, 55% of Democrats say this, compared with 15% of Republicans.

Smaller gaps among partisans on schools, drug addiction, infrastructure

Though there are wide partisan differences on many key national problems, Republicans and Democrats are more aligned on some other issues.

Drug addiction

Today, 54% of Republicans say drug addiction is a very big problem and 46% of Democrats view this as a major problem.

Views about the severity of drug addiction in the country peaked for both Republicans and Democrats in 2019 when roughly seven-in-ten in each group said it was a very big problem.

Quality of public K-12 schools

Chart shows Partisan gap narrows on quality of K-12 schools and condition of roads

Identical shares of Republicans and Democrats now say the quality of public K-12 schools is a very big problem (45% each).

Republicans’ views are relatively unchanged since last year. Democrats’ concern for the quality of public K-12 schools is up 6 points from last year, closing what had been a small partisan gap in recent years.

Condition of roads, bridges and other infrastructure

Roughly three-in-ten Democrats (33%) and Republicans (29%) say the condition of roads, bridges and other infrastructure is a very big problem in the country today.

Partisans’ views of economic issues

Inflation

Inflation remains among the top concerns for Americans, with 63% describing it as a very big problem. The share saying this is roughly on par with 2024, and down from 70% in 2022.

Chart shows Uptick in share of Republicans and Democrats who say affordability of health care is a very big problem

Republicans remain more likely than Democrats to name inflation as a very big problem (73% vs. 53%) – though the gap is narrower than it was a year ago.

Federal budget deficit

Throughout President Joe Biden’s administration, Republicans were consistently about twice as likely as Democrats to describe the federal budget deficit as a very big problem.

Today, this gap has narrowed. The share of Democrats saying the deficit is a very big problem is 12 points higher today (47%) than last May (35%). In contrast, the share of Republicans saying the deficit is a very big problem has dropped 5 points over this period (from 71% to 66%).