American Trends: The U.S. vs. Itself

Not how America ranks against other nations — how America compares to its own past. Click any column header to sort. Use the category buttons or search box to filter.

Data note: These measures compare the United States to its own history, not to other countries. They come from repeated public-opinion surveys (Gallup, Pew Research, the General Social Survey) and administrative statistics (BLS, CDC), and survey figures typically carry a margin of error of about ±3–4 percentage points. Chart points reflect the years each source actually measured, not every year in between — hover any point for its year and value. Large single-year swings can reflect real events (9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19) as well as normal polling variability, and question wording can change over time. This is a starter set; more measures will be added. See Data Sources for details.
Assessment key: Good Top tier OK Middle of the pack Poor Concerning Neutral Context-dependent Raw direction: ↑ rising   ↓ falling   → roughly flat
Category:
Measure Category Trend Then → Now Change Assessment Source Notes
American Pride ("Extremely Proud") National Identity 2001: 55% → 2026: 33% -22 pts ↓ OK Gallup New 25-year record low. Peaked near 70% after 9/11 (2003) and held above majority levels through 2017. Decline is sharpest among younger adults.
Trust in Federal Government Government 1958: 73% → 2025: 17% -56 pts ↓ Poor Pew Research Center Peaked at 77% in 1964, before Vietnam and Watergate. The 2025 reading is among the lowest in nearly seven decades of tracking.
Confidence in Congress Government 1973: 42% → 2024: 8% -34 pts ↓ Poor Gallup Congress has ranked last of every institution Gallup tracks every year since 2010.
Confidence in the Supreme Court Government 1988: 56% → 2024: 30% -26 pts ↓ OK Gallup Fell to a record-low 25% in 2022 after the Dobbs decision, then partly rebounded. Gallup asks several differently worded court questions; this tracks its "confidence in institutions" series.
Political Independents Government 1995: 39% → 2025: 45% +6 pts ↑ Neutral Gallup Record-high 45% now identify as independent, versus a roughly even 27%/27% split between Democrats and Republicans.
Trust in Mass Media Institutions 1972: 70% → 2025: 28% -42 pts ↓ Poor Gallup New record low in 2025. Gallup's 1970s readings ranged 68–72%; 70% is used here as a representative midpoint.
Confidence in Public Schools Institutions 1973: 58% → 2025: 28% -30 pts ↓ OK Gallup A pandemic-era bump to 41% (2020) reversed to a near-record-low by 2025.
Confidence in Police Institutions 1993: 52% → 2025: 51% -1 pt → OK Gallup Fell to a record-low 43% in 2023 after the 2020 protests, then recovered — one of the few institutions to rebound.
Confidence in Banks Institutions 1979: 60% → 2023: 26% -34 pts ↓ Poor Gallup Never recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. Confidence in "big business" specifically runs even lower.
Trust in Scientists Institutions 2016: 76% → 2025: 77% +1 pt → Good Pew Research Center Peaked at 87% early in the COVID-19 pandemic, dropped to 73% by 2023, and has since partly recovered.
Church/Religious Membership Social Fabric 1937: 73% → 2024: 45% -28 pts ↓ OK Gallup Fell below 50% for the first time ever in 2020, a threshold crossed after more than 80 years above it.
Labor Union Membership Social Fabric 1983: 20.1% → 2025: 10.0% -10.1 pts ↓ OK U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Roughly cut in half since 1983, the first year of comparable data; fell below 10% for the first time in 2024.
Marriage Rate Social Fabric 1946: 16.0 → 2023: 6.1 /1,000 -9.9 ↓ OK CDC / NCHS About a third of the post-WWII rate. Hit a record low during the 2020 pandemic before a slight rebound.
Interpersonal Trust ("Most People Can Be Trusted") Social Fabric 1972: 46% → 2024: 34% -12 pts ↓ Poor General Social Survey / Pew Share saying "most people can be trusted" has fallen by roughly a quarter since the early 1970s. Only sparse data points are available for this series.
Satisfaction With Direction of the Country Outlook 1979: 19% → 2026: 34% +15 pts ↑ OK Gallup Extremely volatile month to month — ranged from a record 71% (1999) to a record-low 7% (2008). Has averaged just 25% since 2006, well below the 37% historical average.
Belief Children Will Have a Better Life Outlook 1999: 71% → 2022: 42% -29 pts ↓ Poor Gallup All-time low as of the most recent reading (2022). Distinct from differently worded "American Dream" polls run by other organizations, which report different figures.

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