Overview
- Pew Research Center, which released its findings Friday, reports 59% say the country’s best years are behind it and 40% say they lie ahead.
- Looking 50 years out, more people feel pessimistic than optimistic about the United States, at 44% versus 28%.
- Views break by party, with 64% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters saying the best years are past, while Republicans are more divided at 53% past and 46% ahead.
- The survey polled 3,560 adults in the American Trends Panel from Dec. 8–14, 2025, and Pew cautions that comparisons to a similar 2014 telephone poll are not one-to-one because the methods differ.
- Other reputable polling points to similar but not identical views, including an April Ipsos survey that found about 52% see the best days as past and more people say they can reach the American Dream.