From snakes in the grass to things that go bump in the night, fear is a universal experience — but what Americans are most afraid of depends on where they live. To find out which phobias haunt different corners of the country, we surveyed more than 2,400 people to uncover the most common fears in every U.S. state. The results reveal everything from timeless anxieties, such as public speaking, to spooky seasonal terrors, as well as larger societal worries that keep people up at night.
Whether you dread spiders, losing your job, or stepping on stage in front of a crowd, this state-by-state breakdown sheds light on the fears that shape our daily lives — and shows just how much we have in common, even when it comes to what scares us most.
Key Findings
- More Americans fear public speaking (32.3 %) than snakes (30.7 %).
- Americans are more afraid of spiders than of exorcisms, possession, or ghosts.
- Societal fears, such as losing rights or liberties and the fear of nuclear war, dominate in most U.S. states.
Phobias That Haunt Every State
Most Common Classic Fears or Phobias Nationwide:
- Fear of heights — 50.2%
- Fear of public speaking — 32.3%
- Fear of enclosed/small spaces — 32.1%
- Fear of snakes — 30.7%
- Fear of water (deep water, oceans, etc.) — 24.0%
- Fear of needles — 13.9%
- Fear of flying — 12.5%
- Fear of open/crowded spaces — 11.8%
- Fear of the dark — 10.8%
- Fear of blood — 7.3%
- Fear of holes — 5.8%
- Fear of dogs — 2.2%
- Fear of cats — 0.6%
When it comes to everyday phobias, Americans aren’t most worried about snakes or small spaces — it’s heights that top the national list, with just over half of respondents saying they feel uneasy when they’re up high. Right behind are fears that hit closer to home: nearly one in three people fear public speaking (32.3%) or enclosed/small spaces (32.1%). Snakes (30.7%) and deep water (24%) also remain common sources of anxiety, but the data shows that human interaction and environmental context often scare us more than wildlife.
Breaking it down further, Gen Z and millennials are more afraid of public speaking, while Gen X and boomers are more likely to fear snakes or enclosed spaces. Gender differences also emerge: women report higher fear of public speaking, while men more often cite fear of small, confined places. These demographic patterns suggest that life stage and experience play a significant role in determining which anxieties come to the surface.
Regional clusters also reveal distinct phobia “hot spots.” Many southern states report snakes as their leading fear, while midwestern and northeastern states tend to lean toward a fear of claustrophobia. On the West Coast, public speaking is particularly prevalent, perhaps reflecting a cultural emphasis on performance and communication.
Each State’s Biggest Horror-Related Fear
Most Common Halloween or Horror Fears Nationwide:
- Spiders — 39.9%
- Exorcisms or possession — 37.1%
- Dolls (creepy or possessed) — 29.6%
- Demons — 29.0%
- Ouija boards — 21.1%
- Haunted houses — 15.5%
- Clowns — 14.5%
- Zombies — 11.8%
- Ghosts — 11.0%
- Monsters — 7.2%
- Vampires — 4.2%
- Witches — 3.4%
When it comes to spine-chilling fears, spiders crawl into the top spot — nearly 40% of Americans admit they fear the eight-legged creatures more than anything supernatural. This means that in states from California to Texas and across much of the Midwest, arachnophobia far outweighs ghost stories and haunted house scares.
That’s not to say the paranormal doesn’t spook people. Exorcisms and possession take second place nationwide (37.1%), followed by creepy or possessed dolls (29.6%) and demons (29%). Interestingly, these supernatural fears don’t quite eclipse real-world creepy crawlies. Even in states like Oregon and Florida, where dolls dominate as the top horror fear, the broader national data suggests Americans feel more uneasy about what they can see skittering across the floor than what may lurk in the shadows.
Regional quirks add to the mix: Southern states like Georgia and Louisiana often cite possession-related fears, while northern states like Vermont and Wisconsin are more unnerved by eerie dolls. Still, the nationwide dominance of spiders proves that no matter how many horror movies we watch, nothing beats the primal dread of something with eight legs.
Societal Fears Keeping Americans Up at Night
Most Common Societal Fears Nationwide:
- Fear of running out of money — 57.9%
- Fear of losing rights or liberties — 43.0%
- Fear of nuclear war — 37.6%
- Fear of natural disasters — 30.7%
- Fear of climate change — 22.8%
- Fear of losing your job — 21.8%
- Fear of losing health insurance — 15.3%
- Fear of rising housing costs — 14.7%
- Fear of another pandemic — 13.3%
- Fear of AI taking over jobs — 11.3%
Beyond phobias and Halloween frights, Americans are grappling with anxieties rooted in the real world. The most pressing concern? Money. Nearly 58% of respondents fear running out of it, making financial insecurity the nation’s top societal fear. Beyond that, more than two in five Americans worry about losing rights or liberties, underscoring a climate of political and cultural unease that spans both red and blue states.
Other modern anxieties also loom large. Over a third of Americans report fearing nuclear war, while about 31% are worried about natural disasters — concerns that often cluster by geography. States along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, for instance, cite hurricanes and flooding as top fears. Meanwhile, states like Oregon, Vermont, and Delaware show higher levels of concern over climate change, reflecting a broader conversation about environmental sustainability.
Employment and stability also weigh heavily: Iowa, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Virginia all list job loss as their biggest societal fear, pointing to economic pressures at the individual level. With additional concerns around rising housing costs, health insurance, and even AI replacing jobs, it’s clear that the nation’s collective unease is sometimes less about monsters in the closet and more about the unpredictable forces shaping daily life.
What Our Fears Say About Us
These insights reveal that while our fears may vary by region, age, or circumstance, they all speak to the human experience of vulnerability. Some are timeless and universal, while others are shaped by culture, politics, or geography; yet all remind us that fear is something we share, even if we don’t always share the same one.
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Methodology
To identify each state’s most common fear, we surveyed 2,453 Americans between the ages of 18 and 77 across 47 states from August 13–19, 2025. Alaska, North Dakota, and Wyoming were excluded due to limited survey respondents. For classic fears and phobias, the fear of heights was the top response in nearly every state, with the exceptions of Arizona, Kansas, and Mississippi; therefore, the map highlights the runner-up fears instead. Similarly, for societal fears, the fear of running out of money dominated nationwide, except in Colorado, Maine, and Oklahoma, so the map reflects the runner-up fears for those states as well.
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