After citing the economy and inflation as their top concern for several years, Americans now say that the availability and affordability of healthcare is their biggest worry, according to a recent Gallup poll.
The poll discovered that 61% of Americans said they worried a great deal about healthcare, compared with 51% who said the same about the economy and 50% who worried about inflation. According to Gallup, healthcare had been the country’s top priority between 2015 and 2020 before being displaced by worries about the economy and inflation. Between 2002 and 2014, the economy and healthcare either tied or traded off as Americans’ biggest worry.
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Gallup found that Democrats are more concerned about healthcare than Republicans (80% vs 31%), while Republicans’ biggest worry is illegal immigration (55%). Only 17% of Democrats said they are concerned about illegal immigrants.
While the percentage of Americans who are highly concerned about healthcare hasn’t increased since last year, when it roughly tied with concern for the economy, Gallup noted that “ongoing public concerns about healthcare costs, including personal challenges in affording care, make this a perennial concern.”
Gallup also found that Americans’ overall concerns about national problems have declined slightly since 2025, going from 46% to 43% — the lowest average concern level recorded since 2020, when the average was 38%.
Since last year, worry about social security and the economy has fallen nine points in both categories. Concerns about crime and immigration have declined eight and seven points, respectively, and worries about inflation have dropped six points, shifts that Gallup attributed to reduced worry among Republicans.
Even as Republicans’ concerns about national issues have fallen in the past few years, Democrats’ average concern has risen, going from 37% during Biden’s last year in office to 51% in 2026. Gallup said the shift reflects a familiar pattern that often accompanies a change in party control of the White House.