33%
2024 (latest)
AFRAID TO WALK ALONE AT NIGHT (GSS)
percent of adults who say they are afraid to walk alone at night in their neighborhood · 1973–2024 · neither direction is "better" · Computed from NORC General Social Survey cumulative public microdata, 1972–2024
40%
1973
45%
high · 1994
30%
low · 2014
−7.0 pts
since 1973
┊ dashed lines mark 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak · 1987 Black Monday crash · 1991 Gulf War recession · 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. What people believe: GSS variable FEAR, "Is there any area right around here -- that is, within a mile -- where you would be afraid to walk alone at night?" Value is the weighted percent answering yes (code 1), weight WTSSPS. Years with fewer than 200 weighted responses are dropped. Share is weighted target / weighted valid responses ×100, rounded to one decimal; missing responses excluded. 2021 pandemic push-to-web collection; 2022/2024 mixed-mode compared with earlier in-person surveys. Ballot rotation and skipped survey years cause gaps; interpret cross-mode changes cautiously. Breaks: 2021 pandemic push-to-web collection; 2022/2024 mixed-mode compared with earlier in-person surveys. Ballot rotation and skipped survey years cause gaps; interpret cross-mode changes cautiously.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://gss.norc.org/content/dam/gss/get-the-data/documents/stata/GSS_stata.zip
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Crime-And-Justice
Data
| Year | Afraid to walk alone at night (GSS) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 33% | −4.9 pts |
| 2022 | 38% | +1.7 pts |
| 2021 | 36% | +3.5 pts |
| 2018 | 33% | +1.6 pts |
| 2016 | 31% | +0.6 pts |
| 2014 | 30% | −2.9 pts |
| 2012 | 33% | +0.8 pts |
| 2010 | 32% | −0.3 pts |
| 2008 | 33% | −1.8 pts |
| 2006 | 35% | +3.3 pts |
| 2004 | 31% | +0.0 pts |
| 2002 | 31% | −6.1 pts |
| 2000 | 37% | −1.6 pts |
| 1998 | 39% | −2.4 pts |
| 1996 | 41% | −3.7 pts |
| 1994 | 45% | +4.1 pts |
| 1993 | 41% | −1.1 pts |
| 1991 | 42% | +3.4 pts |
| 1990 | 39% | −0.1 pts |
| 1989 | 39% | +0.6 pts |
| 1988 | 38% | +1.2 pts |
| 1987 | 37% | −3.5 pts |
| 1985 | 40% | +1.0 pts |
| 1984 | 39% | −5.4 pts |
| 1982 | 45% | +2.6 pts |
| 1980 | 42% | −0.8 pts |
| 1977 | 43% | +0.6 pts |
| 1976 | 42% | −1.7 pts |
| 1974 | 44% | +4.3 pts |
| 1973 | 40% | — |
Also in Crime & Justice