Americans believe the country is far apart on abortion and immigration

Washington, DC, February 7, 2023

Ahead of President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address, a new Ipsos poll finds that a majority of Americans believe the country is far apart in their positions on abortion and immigration, as well as government budget and debt. Americans also believe they are far apart on foreign conflicts, while there are mixed feelings on how close positions are on infrastructure. The poll also finds that inflation continues to be the most worrying issue for Americans, followed by crime.

Detailed Findings

1. A strong majority of Americans believe they are far apart in their positions on abortion and immigration. Feelings are more mixed on infrastructure.

• Eighty-one percent of Americans believe they are far apart in their positions on abortion, compared to just 18% who believe they are mostly on the same page. Partisan divides exist, as Republicans (83%) and independents (86%) are more likely to believe Americans are far apart than Democrats (73%).
• A similar percentage says Americans are far apart on immigration stances (78%). Democrats (83%) are more likely to share this sentiment than Republicans (73%).
• A majority also believe the country is far apart in their positions on government budget and debt (70%) and foreign conflicts (59%).
• However, Americans believe they are much closer together on infrastructure. Half believe they are far apart, while 47% say that they are mostly on the same page.

2. Inflation continues to be the top issue for Americans, followed by crime or gun violence.

• Forty percent of Americans find inflation or increasing costs to be the most worrying issue. Republicans (47%) are more worried about this issue than Democrats (33%).
• Thirty-one percent of Americans are worried about crime or gun violence. Partisan divides exist here as well, as Democrats (43%) are more likely to be worried about crime than Republicans (18%).
• Second-tier issues include political extremism or polarization (22%), government corruption (21%), climate change (18%), healthcare (18%) and immigration (17%).

About the Study 

This Ipsos poll was conducted February 3 to February 5, 2023, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel^®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,029 adults age 18 or older. The sample includes 312 Democrats, 278 Republicans, and 329 independents.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.

The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2022 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The weighting categories were as follows:

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.13. For Democrats, the margin of sampling error is 5.8 and the design effect is 1.08. For Republicans, the margin of sampling error is 6.1 and the design effect is 1.07. For independents, the margin of sampling error is 5.6 and the design effect is 1.09. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. Sampling error is only one potential source of error. There may be other unmeasured non-sampling error in this or any poll. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing over 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com