WASHINGTON -- More than half of Americans now worry about a potential terror attack on the U.S. soil, a sharp rise over the past year largely caused by the rising threat from the Islamic State (IS), found a Gallup poll released Tuesday.
The March 5-8 poll showed that 51 percent of Americans worry "a great deal" about the possibility of a terrorist attack, a rise of 12 percentage points over the last survey in 2014.
About 28 percent of Americans worry about the racial relations, up 11 percentage points from 2014. Americans' worries about illegal immigration also climbed over the past year, up by six points to 39 percent.
However, the top concern for Americans is the availability and affordability of healthcare, with 54 percent expressing worries about them, down by three points over the year.
The economy, last year's top concern for Americans, ranked second with 53 percent expressing worries about it, down six points over last year.
At the same time, Americans' concern about unemployment fell sharply over the year. The percentage of Americans saying they worry "a great deal" about the job market dropped to 37 percent from 49 percent in 2014, a level not seen since the economic recession started in 2008.
Some events occurring over the past year have clearly shifted Americans' levels of worry about major issues facing the country, Gallup said. Terror attacks on an anti-Islamic newspaper's office in Paris, Franceand the rise of IS in Syriaand Iraqhave apparently led to a significant increase in Americans' concerns about such attacks taking place on American soil.
Ongoing protests over the shooting death of a black man by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and other racially charged incidents have also increased Americans' worries about tense race relations caused by police brutality.
But gains in economic growth, reduced unemployment and lower gas prices have provided a sense of economic relief to many Americans and alleviated their worries about economic issues, Gallup said.
