Line graph. Percentages of Americans who say they worry a great deal and a great deal or fair amount about crime and violence from 2001 through 2022. Currently, 53% of U.S. adults say they worry a great deal and 80% say they worry a great deal or a fair amount. The highs for each reading were in 2001 when 62% were worried a fair amount and 88% a great deal. Worry about crime was lowest in 2014 when 70%, including 39% were concerned a great deal.
Story Highlights
- 53% of Americans worry a "great deal," 27% a "fair amount"
- "Great deal" of worry hasn't reached majority since 2016
- Women, Republicans, city residents among most worried about crime
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' concern about crime and violence in the U.S. has edged up in the past year, and for the first time since 2016, a majority (53%) say they personally worry a "great deal" about crime. Another 27% report they worry a "fair amount," which places the issue near the top of the list of 14 national concerns -- behind only inflation and the economy, and on par with hunger and homelessness.
Â鶹´«Ã½AV has tracked this measure since 2001 when a record-high 88% of U.S. adults said they worried about crime and violence, including 62% who expressed a great deal of concern. Worry about crime was lowest in 2014 when 70% were worried, including 39% who said they worried a great deal.
The latest reading, from a March 1-18 poll, is in line with similar findings last fall that showed upticks in Americans' anxiety about experiencing a range of crimes and their belief that crime in their local area was worsening. Government national crime data have also shown recent increases in the U.S. homicide rate to its highest point in 25 years.
Crime Worry Differs by Gender, Party, Age and Location
Majorities of women, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, and those aged 30 and older worry a great deal about crime. Meanwhile, less than half of their counterparts -- men, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, and those aged 18 to 29 -- express the same level of concern.
Where U.S. adults live in the country also affects the degree of concern they have about crime. City residents (58%) register a higher level of worry than U.S. adults residing in suburbs (46%) and rural areas (51%). City dwellers' worry has increased nine percentage points since 2021, while worry among suburbanites and rural residents is essentially flat. This likely reflects the record-high homicide rates in numerous U.S. cities last year.
There is less variation across U.S. regions, as majorities of those in the East, Midwest and South say they worry a great deal about crime, while fewer Westerners do.
| Great deal | |
|---|---|
| % | |
| U.S. adults | 53 |
| Gender | |
| Men | 48 |
| Women | 58 |
| Party identification | |
| Republicans | 61 |
| Democrats | 43 |
| Age group | |
| 18 to 29 | 42 |
| 30 to 49 | 55 |
| 50 to 64 | 55 |
| 65+ | 55 |
| Place of residence | |
| Big/Small city | 58 |
| Suburb | 46 |
| Town/Rural area | 51 |
| U.S. region | |
| East | 53 |
| Midwest | 59 |
| South | 54 |
| West | 46 |
| March 1-18, 2022 | |
| Â鶹´«Ã½AV | |
Women have been consistently more worried than men about crime over the course of the 21-year trend. The differences in the other subgroups examined have been more variable.
Looking specifically at party identification, Democrats were generally more likely than Republicans to say they worried a great deal about crime between 2001 and 2015. However, in 2016 and 2017, Republicans' worry outpaced Democrats' for the first time.
Partisans' relative worry shifted again in 2018, the second year of Donald Trump's presidency, with Democratic concern increasing and Republican concern declining. In 2019, Democrats' worry receded and has been below 50% since. Republicans' worry about crime has risen sharply since Joe Biden became president, including an eight-point increase this year.
Line graph. Percentages of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who say they worry a great deal about crime and violence in the U.S. Currently, 61% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats say they worry a great deal about crime. Between 2001 and 2015, Democrats were generally more likely than Republicans to say they worried a great deal about crime.
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