Gallup: 37 Percent of Americans Afraid to Walk Alone at Night

Almost 40 percent of Americans do not feel safe walking near their homes alone at night, a poll finds.

A Gallup survey shows that 37 percent of Americans say there is an area within 1 mile of their home in which they are afraid to walk alone after dark. The figure is 2 percentage points down from the historical average, which dates to 1965, when Gallup first polled this question.

Forty-five percent of women hold this view, compared to 27 percent of men.

Forty-eight percent of young adults ages 18-29 are afraid to walk alone near their homes at night, a number that drops in older age groups — 30-49, 35 percent; 50-64, 34 percent; and 65 or older, 31 percent. In terms of income, 40 percent of people in households making less than $30,000 have fears about walking alone at night, compared to 37 percent in $30,000-$75,000 households and 31 percent of $75,000+ households.

This particular Gallup survey hit a high point in 1982, when 48 percent of Americans said they were afraid to walk in their neighborhoods alone at night. The figure gradually declined until it reached 30 percent in 2002.

The survey results were released ahead of an expected grand jury decision in the Michael Brown shooting case, which could incite riots and looting in Ferguson, Missouri., a suburb of St. Louis. Residents and business owners there have lived on edge ever since the Aug. 9 shooting.

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