NEWSROOM

A recent Gallup poll found that health care is again at the top of Americans’ list of domestic concerns. Sixty-one percent told Gallup that they worry “a great deal” about it over 15 other domestic policy areas. Other economic concerns to half of adults surveyed include the economy, inflation, federal spending and the budget deficit, and the way income and wealth are distributed.

Perhaps surprising are issues about which Americans are less concerned; those include race relations, illegal immigration, unemployment, and the availability of energy. Hunger and homelessness, environmental quality, and the size and power of the federal government round out the top eight of 16 items asked about in the Gallup poll.

Social Security, a concern for 43% of respondents, ranked nineth in the Gallup survey. This marks a year-over-year decline in elevated concern for Social Security and the economy – each down nine percent from 2025. The level of concern is near 2024 levels.

Concern about health care – returning to the top spot – mirrors its prominence in prior decades. Health care routinely ranked as the top concern from 2015 to 2020. During the Biden administration, it was displaced by the economy and inflation. For more than a decade, from 2002 to 2014, health care and the economy were either tied or swapped spots as a leading concern for Americans. Last year, health care tied the economy as the leading concern among U.S. domestic worries. It now leads the survey by a full 10 points.

For more information about the 2026 Gallup survey, visit the organization’s website.