Gallup poll: Public sees crime levels as less problematic than in years past

• An October Gallup report found that 49% of U.S. adults now say crime is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem — down from 56% in 2024 and the lowest level since 2018.

• Sixty-nine percent of Republicans versus 37% of Democrats see crime as a serious national problem. Views shifted slightly after the presidential change.

• Only 12% say their local area has a serious crime problem (down from 14% in 2024), and fewer people think local crime is rising (30%, down from 49%).

• Americans are most worried about identity theft (69%) and financial scams (53%), while far fewer fear crimes like murder or sexual assault.

Public perception of the amount of crime in the U.S. has improved in the past two years, though 49% of adults still say that crime is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem, a recent Gallup survey found.

The 2025 survey results, gathered between Oct. 1-16, continue a downward trend that began last year, when 56% of adults said crime was a serious problem. Previously, larger shares of Americans had considered it to be a problem. 

According to Gallup, the 2024 and 2025 readings are the lowest since 2018, when 48% said crime was a problem. Before 2018, the last time public perception of crime registered below 50% was in 2004 (42%). Gallup also found that one in three adults in 2025 say there is less crime in the U.S. and 8% believe the amount has not changed. 

The trend of fewer adults considering crime to be a serious problem extends across nearly all demographics . Republicans are the most likely political party to say it is an extremely or very serious problem (69%), while Democrats are the least likely (37%). Gallup noted that while the share of Republicans with negative views on crime levels has declined by nine points since last year, the share of Democrats rose by two percentage points, a shift that the report attributed to a change from a Democratic president to a Republican one.

Gallup also asked respondents to say whether they think there is more or less crime in the U.S. than there was a year ago. Similar amounts of people across political parties said there is more crime in the U.S. in 2025 compared with 2024, with slightly more Republicans than Democrats believing crime has risen since last year (54% vs 46%). More women than men said the same (59% vs. 40%), and those in towns or rural areas were more inclined to agree than those who live in suburban areas (55% vs 42%). 

The majority of Americans have always said that crime in their local areas is less serious than crime across the nation, Gallup found, and fewer adults now say that crime in their local areas is increasing (30%, down from 49% recorded last year). Only 12% of respondents say they live in an area with an extremely or very serious crime problem, down slightly from the 14% recorded in 2024 and a major decrease from the trend high point of 17% that was recorded in 2023.

Gallup asked respondents to indicate which crimes they are most afraid of experiencing. The most common fears were identity theft (69%) and being tricked into providing financial information to scammers (53%). Forty-three percent said they would be afraid of having their school-aged children be physically harmed at school, and 60% of parents who actually have school-aged children say the same. 

Only about 20% of Americans worry about getting murdered or being sexually assaulted, and about 30% say they are afraid of being the victim of a hate crime or of getting mugged. Women are generally more afraid than men are of being victimized.

“These shifts mark a continued return to the more positive attitudes last seen in the early 2000s, suggesting the public sees national crime conditions stabilizing after several years of heightened unease,” Gallup reported, adding that “[n]ational crime statistics confirm Americans’ belief, as FBI data show a 4.5% decrease in U.S. crime in 2024.”