In December 2024, 11 percent of survey respondents said that the most important problem facing the United States was the high cost of living and inflation. Another 20percent said that the government and poor leadership was the most serious concern for the nation.

In this 2018 survey, eight percent of respondents stated they think the biggest problem for the United States today is Donald Trump. In fact, most of the important problems mentioned are somehow related to the current POTUS – the most mentioned one being immigration and racism.

A country divided

Since Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, political camps in the United States are deeply divided and global politics is in turmoil; Trump’s job approval ratings are notoriously low, and in fact, they are lower than Reagan’s or Nixon’s averages ever were. Trump’s leadership is controversial at best and his executive orders often cause protests, especially among Democrats and liberals – like the travel ban for Muslims.

On the other side

One of Trump’s main campaign promises was a wall on the border with Mexico in order to keep potential illegal immigrants out and enhance security for American citizens. When he did not get the majority for this plan, he declared a national emergency to force the budget to be allocated, even though the majority of Americans did not support this idea, and it is unclear if the situation at the Mexican border actually warrants it. In fact, the total number of unauthorized immigrants has decreased over the last few years and today, many Americans believe that their country benefits from immigrants and their work .

A survey conducted in February 2025 found that the most important issue for 24 percent of Americans was inflation and prices. A further 12 percent of respondents were most concerned about jobs and the economy.

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. In this poll, respondents were asked about President Ronald Reagan's performance in office and the government's handling of the economy, with a special focus on United States involvement in Latin America. Demographic information on respondents includes age, sex, race, educational level, employment status, political party affiliation, voting history, and marital status.

The New York Times is releasing a series of data files with cumulative counts of coronavirus cases in the United States, at the state and county level, over time. We are compiling this time series data from state and local governments and health departments in an attempt to provide a complete record of the ongoing outbreak.

Since the first reported coronavirus case in Washington State on Jan. 21, 2020, The Times has tracked cases of coronavirus in real time as they were identified after testing. Because of the widespread shortage of testing, however, the data is necessarily limited in the picture it presents of the outbreak.

We have used this data to power our maps and reporting tracking the outbreak, and it is now being made available to the public in response to requests from researchers, scientists and government officials who would like access to the data to better understand the outbreak.

The data begins with the first reported coronavirus case in Washington State on Jan. 21, 2020. We will publish regular updates to the data in this repository.

According to a 2023 survey, young adults in the United States were divided when it came to important political issues. However, more than half of Americans between 18 and 34 considered the cost of living and inflation the most important political issue.

Michigan Current Economic Conditions in the United States decreased to 63.50 points in March from 65.70 points in February of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Michigan Current Economic Conditions.

In a survey conducted between 2022 and 2023, stark divisions between Democrats and Republicans emerged on a number political issues. One of the most pronounced disparities was in regards to government responsibility for ensuring universal healthcare access, with less than one-third of Republicans in favor compared to 85 percent of Democrats. Furthermore, environmental protection emerged as another polarizing topic, with just 26 percent of Republicans prioritizing it over energy development, in contrast to the 81 percent of Democrats who regarded it as a top priority.

United States RMI: Northeast: Current Market Conditions (CM) data was reported at 63.000 Point in Dec 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 73.000 Point for Sep 2024. United States RMI: Northeast: Current Market Conditions (CM) data is updated quarterly, averaging 79.500 Point from Mar 2020 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 87.000 Point in Mar 2022 and a record low of 58.000 Point in Sep 2023. United States RMI: Northeast: Current Market Conditions (CM) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Association of Home Builders. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.EB076: NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index.

United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Bonds: Nonfinancial data was reported at 60.218 USD bn in May 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 44.177 USD bn for Apr 2018. United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Bonds: Nonfinancial data is updated monthly, averaging 37.187 USD bn from Feb 2003 (Median) to May 2018, with 184 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 140.361 USD bn in May 2017 and a record low of 8.529 USD bn in Oct 2005. United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Bonds: Nonfinancial data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.Z030: New Security Issues: Corporations.

The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) is an academic institution hosted by Vanderbilt University that began with the study of democratic values in Costa Rica, but today carries out surveys in much of Latin America, Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. In 2004, LAPOP established the AmericasBarometer as multi-country, regularly conducted survey of democratic values and behaviors in the Americas, and the first round included voting-age respondents from 11 countries. LAPOP collected opinions on major problems facing the country and community, threats to security, attitudes towards the country's political system, and trust in government institutions. Also measured were respondents' participation in community organizations, attitudes towards government critics, voting behavior, confidence in local government, and the prevalence of crime. Demographic information collected includes nationality, ethnicity, native language, age, gender, education level, occupation, religion, and whether the respondent lives in an urban or rural area.

Public Debt Transactions: Issues: Nonmarketable: Government Account data was reported at 435.818 USD bn in 24 Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 438.613 USD bn for 21 Mar 2025. Public Debt Transactions: Issues: Nonmarketable: Government Account data is updated daily, averaging 367.740 USD bn from Oct 2005 (Median) to 24 Mar 2025, with 4878 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,149.148 USD bn in 30 Jun 2022 and a record low of 67.307 USD bn in 02 Oct 2013. Public Debt Transactions: Issues: Nonmarketable: Government Account data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.F074: Public Debt Transactions.

This poll, fielded May 20-24, 2010, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, whether things in the United States were going in the right direction, and how they would rate the condition of the national economy. Respondents were also asked what they thought was the most important problem facing the United States today, whether they approved or disapproved of the way President Obama was handling the economy, the situation with Afghanistan, health care, and the threat of terrorism. They were also asked whether they approved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether most members of Congress have done a good enough job to deserve re-election, and whether they felt the economy is getting better or worse. They were also queried on their feelings for the Democratic and Republican parties, about the way things are going in Washington, DC, how important they thought it was for there to be another woman on the Supreme Court, and their opinion of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Respondents were asked how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought the Arizona documentation policy went too far in dealing with illegal immigration, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States homeowners who were having trouble repaying their mortgages, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States automakers who were in financial trouble, and whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States banks and financial institutions who were in financial trouble. Respondents were asked about the new health care reform bill and whether they approved it, and whether this new reform bill will mostly help, hurt, or not affect them. They were also queried on whether they favored increased drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of the United States, whether they approved of the way the Obama Administration was handling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and whether they approved the way BP was handling the same oil spill. They were asked to rate their family financial situation, how concerned they were about making ends meet financially in the next 12 months, how concerned they were in the next 12 months they or someone in their household might be out of work, how much the economic recession affected them and their family, and whether the economic recession affected plans for their children's future. They were also asked their opinion of the Tea Party movement and whether they considered themselves to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement. They were also asked whether they thought being gay or homosexual was a choice, whether same-sex relations between consenting adults is wrong, whether it is necessary to have laws to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing and employment, and whether they personally know someone who is gay or lesbian. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, reported social class, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.

The current political discourse in the United States focuses on extreme political polarization as a contributor to ills ranging from government shutdowns to awkward family holidays. And indeed, a large body of research has documented differences between liberals and conservatives–primarily focused on Republicans and Democrats in the United States. We combine large international surveys and more fine-grained surveys of United States citizens to compare differences in opinion between Republicans and Democrats to the full range of world opinion on moral issues (N = 37,653 in 39 countries) and issues of free speech (N = 40,786 in 38 countries). When viewed in the full distribution, polarization between Democrats and Republicans appears relatively small, even on divisive issues such as abortion, sexual preference, and freedom of religious speech. The average Democrat-Republic overlap is greater than 70% of the country pair overlaps across eight moral issues, meaning that 70% of the country pairs are more dissimilar from each other than Democrats and Republicans are dissimilar; similarly, the average Democrat-Republic overlap is greater than 79% of the country pair overlaps across five freedom of speech issues. These results suggest that cross-cultural comparisons are useful for putting differences between political partisans within the same country in context.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, 55 percent of Americans said that they disapproved of the way President Biden was handling the issue of immigration and the issue of guns in the United States. A further 45 percent said that they disapproved of the way President Biden was handling the issue of race in that year.

United States CSI: Economic: Current Business Condition: 1Yr Ago: Worse Now data was reported at 26.000 % in May 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 31.000 % for Apr 2018. United States CSI: Economic: Current Business Condition: 1Yr Ago: Worse Now data is updated monthly, averaging 40.000 % from Jan 1978 (Median) to May 2018, with 485 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 96.000 % in Feb 2009 and a record low of 12.000 % in Feb 2000. United States CSI: Economic: Current Business Condition: 1Yr Ago: Worse Now data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by University of Michigan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H028: Consumer Sentiment Index: Economic Conditions. The question was: Would you say that at the present time business conditions are better or worse than they were a year ago?

Reporting of new Aggregate Case and Death Count data was discontinued May 11, 2023, with the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. This dataset will receive a final update on June 1, 2023, to reconcile historical data through May 10, 2023, and will remain publicly available.

Aggregate Data Collection Process Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, data have been gathered through a robust process with the following steps:

• A CDC data team reviews and validates the information obtained from jurisdictions’ state and local websites via an overnight data review process.
• If more than one official county data source exists, CDC uses a comprehensive data selection process comparing each official county data source, and takes the highest case and death counts respectively, unless otherwise specified by the state.
• CDC compiles these data and posts the finalized information on COVID Data Tracker.
• County level data is aggregated to obtain state and territory specific totals.

This process is collaborative, with CDC and jurisdictions working together to ensure the accuracy of COVID-19 case and death numbers. County counts provide the most up-to-date numbers on cases and deaths by report date. CDC may retrospectively update counts to correct data quality issues.

Methodology Changes Several differences exist between the current, weekly-updated dataset and the archived version:

• Source: The current Weekly-Updated Version is based on county-level aggregate count data, while the Archived Version is based on State-level aggregate count data.
• Confirmed/Probable Cases/Death breakdown:  While the probable cases and deaths are included in the total case and total death counts in both versions (if applicable), they were reported separately from the confirmed cases and deaths by jurisdiction in the Archived Version.  In the current Weekly-Updated Version, the counts by jurisdiction are not reported by confirmed or probable status (See Confirmed and Probable Counts section for more detail).
• Time Series Frequency: The current Weekly-Updated Version contains weekly time series data (i.e., one record per week per jurisdiction), while the Archived Version contains daily time series data (i.e., one record per day per jurisdiction).
• Update Frequency: The current Weekly-Updated Version is updated weekly, while the Archived Version was updated twice daily up to October 20, 2022.

Important note: The counts reflected during a given time period in this dataset may not match the counts reflected for the same time period in the archived dataset noted above. Discrepancies may exist due to differences between county and state COVID-19 case surveillance and reconciliation efforts.

Confirmed and Probable Counts In this dataset, counts by jurisdiction are not displayed by confirmed or probable status. Instead, confirmed and probable cases and deaths are included in the Total Cases and Total Deaths columns, when available. Not all jurisdictions report probable cases and deaths to CDC.* Confirmed and probable case definition criteria are described here:

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (ymaws.com).

Deaths CDC reports death data on other sections of the website: CDC COVID Data Tracker: Home, CDC COVID Data Tracker: Cases, Deaths, and Testing, and NCHS Provisional Death Counts. Information presented on the COVID Data Tracker pages is based on the same source (to

Drought occurs when a region has an imbalance between water supply and water demand over an extended period of time. Droughts can have significant environmental, economic, and social consequences. Between 1980 and the present time, the cost of drought exceeded 100 billion dollars, making drought monitoring a key factor in planning, preparedness, and mitigation efforts at all levels of government. Data Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, National Drought Mitigation Center, GISData DownloadUpdate Frequency:  Weekly, typically on Friday around 10:00AM UTC. Using the Aggregated Live Feed MethodologyFor Full Historical data: See USA Drought Intensity 2000 - Present Online Item!For Default Symbology Style: See USA Drought Intensity - Current Conditions Online Item!Dataset Summary:This feature service provides access to current drought intensity categories for the entire USA. These data have been produced weekly since January 4, 2000 by the U.S. Drought Monitor, see the Full Historical data for the full time series. Drought intensity is classified according to the deviation of precipitation, stream flow, and soil moisture content from historically established norms, in addition to subjective observations and reported impacts from more than 350 partners across the country. New map data is released every Thursday to reflect the conditions of the previous week.Layer Summary:'US_Drought_Current': Polygon areas for most recent weekThis Layer contains a series of drought classification summaries that fall into two groups: Categorical Percent Area and Cumulative Percent Area.

Categorical Percent Area statistic is the percent of the area in a certain drought category and excludes areas that are better or worse. For example, the D0 category is labeled as such and only shows the percent of the area experiencing abnormally dry conditions.

Cumulative Percent Area statistics combine drought categories for a comprehensive percent of area in drought. For example, the D0-D4 category shows the percent of the area that is classified as D0 or worse.Drought Classification Categories are as follows:

Class Description Possible Impacts

D0 Abnormally Dry Going into drought: short-term dryness slows growth of crops/pastures. Coming out of drought: some lingering water deficits; drops/pastures not fully recovered.

D1 Moderate Drought Some damage to crops/pastures; streams, reservoirs, or wells are low with some water shortages developing or imminent; voluntary water-use restrictions requested.

D2 Severe Drought Crop/pasture losses are likely; water shortages are common and water retrictions are imposed.

D3 Extreme Drought Major crop/pasture losses; widespread water shortages or restrictions.

D4 Exceptional Drought Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies. The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced in partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is the drought map that the USDA and IRS use to define which farms have been affected by drought conditions, defining who is eligible for federal relief funds.

United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Stocks: Nonfinancial data was reported at 6.809 USD bn in May 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 6.238 USD bn for Apr 2018. United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Stocks: Nonfinancial data is updated monthly, averaging 5.349 USD bn from Feb 2003 (Median) to May 2018, with 184 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.709 USD bn in Feb 2015 and a record low of 641.000 USD mn in Dec 2008. United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Stocks: Nonfinancial data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.Z030: New Security Issues: Corporations.

Under what conditions can citizens hold government officials accountable for their behavior? I examine accountability over the police, a pervasive face of the state as experienced by most people. Like elected politicians, police enjoy significant discretion, limited oversight, power, and corruptibility. Continued problems of police violence and disparate treatment, especially against Black Americans, have shown the importance of accountable policing. Using calls for service records, election returns, survey data, and case studies, I explore challenges of political accountability across the highly varied 18,000 police department in the United States. The police are both a nationally salient social group – evaluated differently by partisans in a national media environment – as well as a locally-provided government function that tens of millions of Americans encounter regularly. This decentralization complicates improvements to policing policies by limiting the impacts of reform activism to particular cities and by misaligning activism with local conditions (Chapter 1). Millions of Americans regularly call the police to manage a swathe of urgent problems. Examining whether citizens punish street-level bureaucrats for misbehavior by withdrawing from demands for police intervention, I find that daily demands for policing services remain steady after well-publicized police abuse (Chapter 2). Absent exit, change requires political action. One manifestation of the varieties of American policing is between elected and appointed police leadership. I show that each approach has problems: elected sheriffs seem too steady in their offices – over which they enjoy almost unfettered control and significant incumbency advantage – while appointed police chiefs are constrained by unions, politicians, and the public (Chapter 3). Drawing on case studies of immigration enforcement in county jails, I show that nationally salient issues can impinge on the domains of county Sheriffs and increase interest and energy in local elections – aligning policies with preferences through a process I term “redirected nationalization” (Chapter 4). An additional problem is that police officers are themselves political agents who can resist change. By analyzing their nearly universal support for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and the status of police as a salient cleavage in American electoral politics, I show a strong affinity between police union and right-wing politics rooted in the sense that police are “under siege” by Black Lives Matter and calls for reform (Chapter 5). This uniform conservative orientation of police culture clashes with the array of problems the police manage, which frequently include homelessness and mental illness (Chapter 6, co-authored with Jacob Brown). I conclude that, where possible, it is better to unbundle the multifaceted police role, with specialized civil servants responding to classes of problems (Chapter 7). However, the decentralization of policing in the United States and the ambiguity of many calls for services will complicate unbundling. Hence, there remains a need to cultivate a police culture sensitive to the range of problems police encounter and, longer term, to ameliorate the social conditions which drive reliance on police services.