What Americans Fear Most: 2023 Fear Ranking

The Year in Fear 2023: An Overview

We conducted our first fear ranking in 2021, following the most stressful year on record. Though society's descent into sadness has slowed, it has not yet reversed. Studies show a plateau in global unhappiness, stalling despair at critical levels. Unfortunately, we found that year-over-year anxiety remains dire in the United States.

When we asked Americans to describe their anxiety level compared to one year ago, 37 percent declared it had worsened, compared to only 29 percent citing improvement. Roughly one-third said that their anxiety remained constant from 2022 to 2023.

This anxiety change was nearly identical among men and women but varied noticeably along a generational divide. Younger Americans experienced worsening anxiety: almost half of those under age 45 said they were more anxious in 2023, compared to less than one-third of those aged 46 and older.

To understand which concerns fuel America's anxiety, we asked participants to disclose how much they fear 72 unique situations across several general categories. After adjusting results to ensure an accurate representation of the population, we calculated “fear scores” to quantify the collective fear associated with each subject. Scenarios with higher scores (closer to 100) indicate more people were afraid, and situations scores closer to zero were less frightening for our respondents.

Political Fears: Global Conflict and 2024 Elections Driving Anxiety

In an ideal world, politics can be a positive societal force rather than a source of suspicion. Unfortunately, in this moment of stark polarization political issues sow distrust among neighbors. This political divide and upcoming presidential election may be driving deep-seated worries according to our study:

The looming presidential election intensifies political tensions, with a likely Biden-Trump rematch in 2024. Donald Trump's potential return to office ranks as the nation's #12 overall fear, particularly worrying women, older Americans, and those in urban communities. While people are concerned about both leading candidates, a higher proportion of Americans fear Trump’s re-election compared to Biden’s.

The threat of world war also sparked fear in 46 percent of American adults. As war between Russia and U.S. ally Ukraine drags on, recent renewed violence between Israel and Gaza may add to Americans’ anxiety surrounding global warfare.

True Crime: Mass Shootings and Civil Unrest Remain Front-of-Mind

Urban crime rates are higher today than before the pandemic. In 2022, high-profile active shooter incidents surged, and school shootings increased in 2023. Our findings reflect these realities: gun violence was the 5th scariest situation in our ranking, with 54 percent of Americans expressing fear about this threat. Identity theft and robbery were other crimes with fear scores in the 60s.

Gender disparities play a significant role in fear rankings, with twice as many women fearing physical assault, three times as many fearing sexual assault, and four times as many worrying about walking alone at night compared to men.

Different community settings also produced a recognizable divide. The violent crime rate in urban environments is more than twice as high as in rural areas, leaving city-dwelling Americans justifiably more frightened of victimization. In particular, gun violence, hate crimes, and police brutality generated significantly higher fear scores among Americans in urban locations.

Personal Health: A Near-Universal Fear Following Covid-19

The unpredictable possibility of our bodies betraying us is a common human concern, as indicated by three personal health fears landing in the top 10 fears.

Becoming seriously ill is Americans’ third most prevalent fear. Losing physical mobility and contracting a chronic illness were also highly-ranked anxieties. Additionally, dying, getting old, and the chance of another pandemic all posted fear scores in the 60s.

Men and women demonstrated similar rankings regarding matters of personal health, but women’s fear ran deeper. The percentage of women afraid of individual health threats was more significant than that of men on every issue.

Assessing health-related fears by age group reveals that older Americans closer to life’s natural end appear more accepting of death. Youngsters may act invincible, but those under 30 are far more frightened of their mortality than those in the oldest age groups.

We also learned that urban communities are demonstrably more anxious about the possibility of another pandemic. Nearly half of urban dwellers were afraid of a new pandemic, compared to around 30 percent of rural residents. This finding may have philosophical roots, as rural communities tend to be more conservative and skeptical of public health initiatives. Alternatively, the disparity could be based on practical concerns, as communicable diseases can spread more quickly in densely populated areas.

Climate Concerns: Environmental Issues Inspire Widespread Fear

With polluted air covering every country, freshwater shortages on the horizon, and experts warning of an approaching threshold for catastrophic climate change, pervasive fears of such global threats are well-grounded in reality.

None of these fears cracked the top ten. Still, several environmental, ecological, and disaster-based fears produced fear scores of 60 or higher, with pollution, climate change, and natural disasters leading the way.

As threats to the planet affect every demographic, these fears were broadly equal among genders and age groups. Respondents in urban areas, however, reported far greater fear about environmental and ecological concerns. These positions may be driven by politics more than population density, as Republicans significantly outnumber Democrats in rural America and generally consider the environment a lower priority. Among fears of natural disasters, an asteroid impact was the lowest-ranked global threat (befitting the low level of risk).

Our Data and Complete Fear Rankings

Safehome.org conducted an online poll of 2,634 adults living in the U.S. about the degree to which they fear various scenarios. Respondents were weighted according to the 2020 U.S. Census so their responses were representative of the American population in terms of gender and age.

Fears were ranked by two metrics: The percentage of respondents who were afraid or very afraid of each scenario, and by a fear score. The fear score is a normalized weighted sum whereby “Very afraid” was weighted 3, “Afraid” was weighted 2, “Slightly afraid” was weighted 1, and “Not afraid” was weighted at 0. The number of responses for each is multiplied by their weight and summed together, then normalized by dividing by two times the total number of responses, then multiplied by 100 and rounded to the nearest integer.