Today is Halloween, the day for all things creepy and scary, and new research reveals the things Americans are most afraid of this year. The ninth annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears has just come out, but you won’t see ghosts or ghouls anywhere on this list.
- The survey is done by asking a random sample of 1,014 adults across the country about 97 different fears, with topics ranging from the environment to natural disasters to the economy.
- This year’s biggest fear has been the number one fear in America since 2015: Corrupt government officials.
- While it continues to top the list, the percentage of Americans who are very afraid or afraid of corrupt government officials has dropped from 62% last year to 60.1% this year. The high was in 2020-21 when it was 79.6%.
Top 10 Fears of 2023 % of Very Afraid or Afraid
- Corrupt government officials 60.1%
- Economic/financial collapse 54.7%
- Russia using nuclear weapons 52.5%
- The U.S. becoming involved in another World War 52.3%
- People I love becoming seriously ill 50.6%
- People I love dying 50.4%
- Pollution of drinking water 50.0%
- Biological warfare 49.5%
- Cyber-terrorism 49.3%
- Not having enough money for the future 48.0%
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