Americans' Top 10 Biggest Fears About the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic and its steep death toll, as well as the economic damage it has wrought and the changes it has triggered in our daily lives, have been unsettling at best. A survey conducted April 7-13 by Statista provides a revealing snapshot of people's fears in these challenging and heart-wrenching times, asking nearly 700 participants to identify their main concerns in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are those fears ranked, leading up to what worries Americans most.

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14% of respondents are worried that the pandemic may lead to rioting or looting.

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24% are concerned about job security.

This statistic might seem low, given that unemployment claims are breaking records, skyrocketing to 6.6 million just for the week ending March 28. More than 16 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since mid-March.

28% said the political stability of the nation is one of their current concerns.

28% of respondents have fears about their own mental health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that the pandemic may be very stressful for people, and that fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming, causing strong emotions in adults and children.

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42% of survey participants are particularly concerned about food — more than are worried about job losses.

Americans are also more concerned about food shortages than respondents in the three other countries in the survey, by far: 33% of respondents in the United Kingdom, 26% in China, and 18% in Germany shared this concern.

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47% are worried about their own economic situation.

Of course they are — as of December, 69% of Americans had just $1,000 saved, according to a survey at the time, and 45% had nothing in the bank. And that was before the pandemic brought the economy to a near halt and set off record unemployment.

51% of respondents say their physical health is a big source of worry.

51% are also fearful about the health of their parents or older friends.

Based on available information, the CDC warns that older adults might be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

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69% of survey respondents said the country’s economic stability is a primary source of fear amid the pandemic, which has led to a stock market meltdown, record job losses in the past month, and the shuttering of businesses coast to coast.

Economic stability is another thing that concerns Americans more than survey respondents in China (67%), Germany (59%), and the U.K. (54%).

72% of survey participants worry most of all about their families' health.

This chart-topping concern should come as no surprise. As of April 14, there have been 26,047 deaths attributed to the virus in the United States, and 613,886 cases of the virus diagnosed.

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