POLL: The Top 15 Issues That Have Americans Worried

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The percentage of Americans who worry “a great deal” about the possibility of a terrorist attack has climbed by 12 percentage points since 2014, and has now reached 51 percent, according to a new Gallup Poll released this week.

Gallup says events like the rise of the militant group ISIS and the terrorist attack that killed several employees of a French satirical newspaper in Paris are likely responsible for the rise in concern.

Worries over the economy and the availability and affordability of health care top the list of Americans’ worries, each causing “a great deal” of concern for more than 50 percent of Americans.

Topics that worry Americans a great deal:

• 54% – The availability and affordability of healthcare
• 53% – The economy
• 51% – The possibility of future terrorist attacks in the U.S.
• 46% – The Social Security system
• 46% – The size and power of the federal government
• 46% – The way income and wealth are distributed in the U.S.
• 43% – Hunger and homelessness
• 43% – Crime and violence
• 39% – Illegal immigration
• 38% – Drug use
• 37% – Unemployment
• 34% – The quality of the environment
• 28% – The availability and affordability of energy
• 28% – Race relations
• 25% – Climate change

The uptick of 11 percentage points in Americans’ concern over race relations is likely due to the controversy surrounding the Ferguson, Missouri, August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager. Despite the spike in concern, race relations was still near the bottom of the list with only 28 percent of Americans expressing concern.

The list also holds some good news. While Americans’ concern about terrorism and race relations increased, much of the recession-era worry over unemployment has dissipated. The percentage of Americans worried about unemployment fell substantially from 49 percent in 2014 to 37 percent this year. Furthermore, Gallup says that figure has not been this low since before the start of the economic recession.

Of the topics on the list, Americans are least concerned about climate change. Race relations and the availability of affordable energy fill out the rest of the bottom three. Gallup attributes this shift in worry to “amped up” conversations on racism and police brutality in some communities, combined with economic growth and lower gas prices.

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