The 1986 polls done by University of North Dakota asked a very general question in which age was just one of the many variables, the answer most selected (32.8%) was that people being treated differently based on of race, religion, sex, age, physical handicap, national origin, mental illness, or mental retardation is a problem. The 1993 Los Angeles Times polls which asked about where people felt the most discriminated against in terms of age had more specific answers. 55% answered that they felt the most discriminated against at work and 12 % said they felt discriminated due to their age when trying to get a job or keep a job. The results of the, ICM/Age Concern (2001) polls suggested that 30% of the people interviewed said they had a friend or someone who they knew that experienced age discrimination at work.
The most recent poll that the search engine located was that of AARP (2008) asking its sample to level their concerns about age discrimination at employment suggested that 14% are extremely concerned, 18% are very concerned, 24% are somewhat concerned, 18% are not very concerned and 23% are not at all concerned.