A study published by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) found that over a quarter of Americans (27 percent) felt that environment and climate protection will be the most critical challenge to overcome in the future – eclipsing other concerns such as immigration, healthcare and even the cost of living crisis (purchasing power development) that are top of mind going into the U.S. presidential election.

NIM’s Challenges of Nations (U.S.) surveyed the fears and expectations of almost 2,000 Americans. It compares their current (2024 in pink below) against concerns for the future (5-10 years in blue below) to show how societal concerns change over time and provide information on the values of U.S. consumers, which, in turn, will shape what they purchase and how they engage with businesses.

The report highlighted that the primary current (pre-election) concerns among most Americans are the following:

  • First, 43 percent of respondents prioritize action on the Cost of Living (price and purchasing power development).
  • Second, 36 percent of respondents prioritize Immigration, a historically high number compared to this year’s pressured economic environment.

The U.S. respondents’ future concerns demonstrate a different trend to their immediate priorities in the run-up to this year’s presidential elections.

Graphic “And if you think 5–10 years into the future: What do you think, which urgent matters the USA will have to solve then?” Unaided responses (net sum per topic) | multiple responses possible | BASE: all respondents n = 1,877 | values in %

Over the past two years, the number of Americans placing Climate as a top concern has dropped from 25 percent to 19 percent, while Immigration increased sharply from 24 percent to 36 percent. This reportedly shows the contrast between fears that have implications today and those whose implications are slightly more long-term.

Study director Tobias Biro from NIM said, “These results clearly show that Americans have a cautious eye on the future and are conscious of future challenges that are on the way, but that it’s all too easy for those future challenges to be drowned out by the seemingly more pressing issues that are having a tangible impact on their lives today.

“Food prices in the supermarket provide an unavoidable benchmark for the cost of living that Americans can see every day; however, the less visible threats that might come from climate are not escaping their attention,” Biro continued.

To read more about the report, go here.

Methodology: The organization has conducted the NIM “Challenges of Nations” study since 1985. This year’s special edition focuses on the U.S. during the presidential election year. It includes responses from 1,877 people aged 18 to 69, representing the (online) population. The survey was conducted by GfK between July 23, 2024 and July 31, 2024.