COVID-19 Health Concerns Overtake Financial Worries
Pandemic prompts behavior changes, increased social distancing, and less physical contact
Americans express their concerns as the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. increases – impacting lives and livelihoods across the nation. Americans say that they are “most concerned” about the threat posed to their health, more than the threat to their financial situation, by a margin of greater than two-to-one (65% vs. 29%).
- There is a wide age gap on the greatest concern over COVID-19. Americans 60 years and older feel that the threat to health is greater than the risk to their finances (76% vs. 14%).
- However, among those under age 35, views are mixed: 57% are most concerned about the health risk, while 39% are most concerned about the threat to their financial situation.
Change in behaviors since COVID-19 outbreak
How often are you …

Impact of COVID-19
over next few weeks
Americans are most concerned about threat to …

Source: EurekaFacts Panel Survey of U.S. adults, March 23-31, 2020. N=936. Conducted in compliance with ISO: 20252 to which EurekaFacts is certified.
The EurekaFacts national poll of U.S. adults, conducted March 23-31, also finds that calls from elected officials and health experts for Americans to maintain social distance have gained traction.
- Nine-in-ten adults (92%) say that they are practicing social distancing “more often” since the COVID-19 outbreak.
- In addition to avoiding meetings and handshaking, three-in-ten Americans (31%) are hugging and kissing “less often” since learning of the outbreak, and another 47% say they are not doing this at all.
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Results of the EurekaFacts national poll are available as a downloadable PDF. Sample sizes and sampling errors for overall results and subgroups available upon request. Read our first COVID-19 press release. For more information about this study or additional research conducted by EurekaFacts, please contact Robert Suls at sulsr@eurekafacts.com.