(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-30 08:51

WASHINGTON - The spiraling cost of gasoline tops a long and growing list of Americans' economic woes, with consumers also stressed by the rising cost of health care, food, and housing, according to a national survey released Tuesday.

A woman pumps gas at a gasoline station. The spiraling cost of gasoline tops a long and growing list of Americans' economic woes, with consumers also stressed by the rising cost of health care, food, and housing, according to a national survey released Tuesday. [Agencies]

The poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found respondents most stressed about the rising cost of gasoline, with 44 percent of respondents saying they're having problems paying up at the pump.

In second place was growing anxiety over getting a good-paying job or pay raise (29 percent), according to the Menlo Park, California-based foundation.

Health care costs were a close third, with nearly three in 10 Americans (28 percent) reporting that they or a family member has had a serious problem meeting the cost of medical treatment or health insurance during the current economic downturn.

Also on the list of top consumer concerns were problems paying rent or the mortgage (19 percent); credit card payments or personal debt (18 percent); rising food costs (18 percent); and stock market losses (16 percent).

The Kaiser telephone survey of 2,003 adults across the United States was conducted between April 3 and 13, and has a sampling error of plus-or-minus three percentage points, the foundation said in a statement.