Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Visit us at pewresearch.org
The rise in cases spurred by the omicron variant put renewed focus on vaccination rates in the U.S. as well as the role booster shots play in limiting the impacts from the coronavirus.
Overall, 78% of U.S. adults say they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including 73% who say they are fully vaccinated (5% say they’ve received one shot, but need one more).
When it comes to booster shots, our new survey finds that 66% of adults who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 say they have also received a booster shot within the last six months. This group makes up 48% of all U.S. adults.
The U.S. Supreme Court, which typically attracts only modest attention from the American public, is about to occupy the national spotlight with the possibility of a history-making change among the court’s justices and a series of highly anticipated rulings on matters ranging from abortion to gun policy.
The court enters this pivotal period with its public image as negative as it has been in many years, as growing shares of Americans express unfavorable opinions of the court. Today, 54% of U.S. adults say they have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court while 44% have an unfavorable view.
The public’s views of the nation’s economy remain quite negative; just 28% say economic conditions are excellent or good. Overwhelming majorities say that prices for food and consumer goods (89%) and gas prices (82%) are worse than they were a year ago, with more than half saying they are “a lot” worse (60% food and consumer goods, 54% gas prices). However, a 56% majority says the availability of jobs has improved compared with a year ago.
Joe Biden began his presidency with positive job ratings and broad public confidence in his ability to deal with a number of major challenges – particularly the public health impact of the coronavirus. He starts his second year with diminished job approval and majorities expressing little or no confidence in him on many of these same issues, the coronavirus included.
Currently, 41% of Americans approve of Joe Biden’s job performance, which is down slightly from September 2021 (44%) and substantially lower than last April (59%).
With the Omicron variant continuing to spread across the U.S., fewer than half of Americans (44%) now say they are somewhat confident in Biden to handle the coronavirus; that share is down 21 percentage points since March (65%).
Prospective homebuyers and renters across the United States have seen prices surge and supply plummet during the coronavirus pandemic. Amid these circumstances, about half of Americans (49%) say the availability of affordable housing in their local community is a major problem, up 10 percentage points from early 2018, according to a survey conducted in October 2021.
Another 36% of U.S. adults said in the fall that affordable housing availability is a minor problem in their community, while just 14% said it is not a problem.
Opinions on the question of housing affordability differ by a variety of demographic factors, including income, race and ethnicity, and age.
Trust in America: Do Americans trust the news media?
The news media industry has gone through a lot of changes in the past 10 to 20 years that have impacted the way news is both produced and consumed. Our researchers discuss the effects of these changes on how Americans trust the news media and assess news and information, including the role of partisanship, misinformation and representation.
The relationship between the public and police across the United States was brought into sharp focus over the course of 2020 and 2021 following the high-profile killings of several Black Americans by police, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the worldwide protests that followed. In this episode of our Trust in America video series, our researchers discuss Americans’ trust in police, how views of and experiences with policing vary across political and demographic lines, and how Americans feel about proposals for police reform.
Trust in America: How do Americans view economic inequality?
Economic inequality in the U.S. has been rising steadily over the past few decades, and this increase has not gone unnoticed by Americans. In this episode of our Trust in America video series, our researchers explain views of economic inequality and trust in the U.S. economic system. They discuss how Americans feel about the economic system in this country, the impact economic inequality has on people’s lives, and who the public thinks should be responsible for reducing it.
Trust in America: In the age of COVID-19, do Americans trust science?
The coronavirus pandemic has put scientists and their work in a public spotlight unlike anything seen in decades. Our researchers discuss how Americans’ confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interest has changed since the pandemic began and the impact trust has on views of the virus. They also examine some of the reasons why people have or have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and some of the demographic differences in vaccination status.
Trust in America: Do Americans trust their elections?
The Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol over the certification of the 2020 presidential election was a flashpoint for Americans and the American political system. And it highlighted several key components of a question our researchers have been studying for the last several years: Do Americans trust their elections? Our researchers discuss this moment in the broader context of how Americans view elections, including how trust is impacted by the complexity of the overall system, varying rules on how and when you can vote, and whether the candidate you support wins or loses.
Trust in American institutions is essential to the functioning of U.S. democracy. Yet today, many feel that trust is declining. So what impact does this have on American society?
We explore that question in our new five-part animated video series. Each short video brings together the Center’s key findings about trust in the news media, elections, police, scientists and the economy. Watch all five episodes here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ9z-Af5ISaswq9yoHM32olz4-AITb1Dl
In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, some wondered if city living would lose its appeal, especially as remote work gave people more freedom to choose where to live. About a year and a half into the pandemic, there is some evidence that Americans are less likely now than they were before to want to live in urban areas – and more likely to want to live in the suburbs, according to our new survey.
About one-in-five U.S. adults now express a preference for living in a city, down from about a quarter in 2018. The share of Americans who would like to live in the suburbs has increased from 42% to 46% during this time, while preference for rural areas is virtually unchanged.
A median of 56% across 17 advanced economies surveyed in 2021 say their political system needs major changes or needs to be completely reformed. Roughly two-thirds or more express this opinion in Italy, Spain, the U.S., South Korea, Greece, France, Belgium and Japan. Even where the demand for significant political reform is relatively low, substantial minorities want at least minor changes. In all of the publics surveyed, fewer than three-in-ten say the political system should not be changed at all.
Nontraditional, short-term and contract work existed prior to the internet and smartphones, but the gig economy has ushered in a new way of connecting people with consumers and those who want to hire them.
Gig jobs are often billed as a good way to generate more income and control when and how much you work. These sentiments are similarly expressed by gig workers in our new survey. When asked why they are drawn to these jobs, gig workers are especially likely to cite financial reasons as key factors – either for saving up or covering fluctuations in income. Among current or recent gig workers, about half or more cite wanting to save up extra money (56%) or needing to cover gaps or changes in their income (52%) as major reasons for taking on these jobs over the past 12 months.
On balance, people around the world most often cite family – followed by occupation and material well-being – when asked to describe what makes their lives meaningful. But the list looks somewhat different among the youngest and oldest adults surveyed.
Among those ages 18 to 29, friends and community often rank in the top three responses offered – usually second to family and far outpacing material well-being. Among those ages 65 and older, material well-being and health are frequently mentioned as top sources of meaning, while occupation isn’t mentioned enough to make the top three responses in any place surveyed.