Favorable views of Supreme Court remain near historic low

Just over half of Americans (53%) currently have an unfavorable opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court, while a smaller share (45%) views the court favorably. Opinions of the court have been relatively stable over the last few years, and favorable views remain close to a three-decade low, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults. The survey was conducted July 6-12, 2026, shortly after the court’s 2025-26 term ended. The court’s favorable rating is 20 percentage points lower today than in April 2021, when 65% of Americans held a positive view. Favorable views of the Supreme Court remain near historic low % who say they have a(n) __ opinion of the Supreme Court % who say they have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court Note: No answer responses are not shown. Survey data is from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (August 2019-July 2026) and Center phone surveys (1987-January 2019). Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Favorable views of the Supreme Court remain near historic low % who say they have a(n) __ opinion of the Supreme Court DateFavorableUnfavorable2026-07-1245532025-08-1048502025-04-1351472024-07-0747512023-07-1044542023-04-0248502022-08-1448492022-01-1754442021-04-0165332020-08-0270292020-01-1966322019-08-0469302019-01-1470232018-03-1466282016-08-1660322016-06-2662292015-09-2750422015-07-2048432015-03-2950392014-07-1452382014-04-2756352013-07-2148382013-03-1752312012-12-0953362012-07-0151372012-04-1552292010-07-0158252010-02-0158272009-04-0164212008-04-0165252007-07-0157292007-01-0172172006-07-0163272006-02-0160282005-10-0162272005-07-0161282005-06-0157302001-07-0170202001-03-0172202001-01-0168211997-10-0177181997-05-0172221994-07-0180161993-05-0173181991-11-0172211990-05-0165251988-01-0179131987-05-0176171985-03-016428DateRep/Lean RepDem/Lean Dem2026-07-1269252025-08-1071262025-04-1373302024-07-0773242023-07-1068242023-04-0268312022-08-1473282022-01-1765462021-04-0167652020-08-0275672020-01-1978582019-08-0485572019-01-1482632018-03-1471622016-08-1651702016-06-2655722015-09-2738642015-07-2033612015-03-2949542014-07-1453542014-04-2752612013-07-2147532013-03-1746582012-12-0941642012-07-0140622012-04-1555522010-07-0153662010-02-0162582009-04-0174642008-04-0176602007-07-0169522007-01-0182702006-07-0170582006-02-0175502005-10-0172592005-07-0168582005-06-0165542001-07-0180652001-03-0183672001-01-0180611997-10-0176811997-05-0169781994-07-0179831993-05-0173751991-11-0180661990-05-0173581988-01-0184781987-05-018075 Note: No answer responses are not shown. Survey data is from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (August 2019-July 2026) and Center phone surveys (1987-January 2019). Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER About this research This Pew Research Center analysis looks at Americans’ views of the Supreme Court. Why did we do this? Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. We have studied Americans’ views of politics and major policy issues, including the Supreme Court, for decades.Learn more about Pew Research Center and our politics research. How did we do this? We surveyed 3,554 U.S. adults from July 6 to 12, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population. Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology. This analysis also uses data from a Center survey conducted Aug. 4 to 10, 2025. Here are the 2025 survey questions, along with the responses, and the survey methodology. How Democrats and Republicans see the Supreme Court A quarter of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents view the Supreme Court favorably. That is similar to recent years and one of the lowest favorable ratings of the court from either party in the more than 30 years since we first asked the question. As recently as 2021 – before the court’s 2022 decision to overturn the federal right to abortion – nearly two-thirds of Democrats had a favorable impression of the court. By contrast, Republicans and GOP leaners are much more likely to view the high court favorably, with 69% having a positive opinion. Republicans’ opinions of the court have changed much less than Democrats’ in recent years. Perceptions of the Supreme Court’s ideology More than four-in-ten Americans (43%) view the Supreme Court as conservative. A similar share (44%) view it as “middle of the road.” Only 9% describe the court as liberal. Public perceptions of the Supreme Court’s ideology have not changed much in the past few years. Compared with 2020, however, Americans are now more likely to describe the court as conservative. Democrats remain more likely than Republicans to view the Supreme Court as conservative: 67% of Democrats say this, compared with 19% of Republicans. 66% of Republicans and 27% of Democrats say the court is middle of the road. 13% of Republicans say the court is liberal, compared with 5% of Democrats. Most Democrats view Supreme Court as conservative; two-thirds of Republicans say it is ‘middle of the road’ % who say the current Supreme Court is … Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July. 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Most Democrats view Supreme Court as conservative; two-thirds of Republicans say it is ‘middle of the road’ % who say the current Supreme Court is … DateGroupConservativeMiddle of the roadLiberalgroupingAug ’20Total305612TotalJan ’22Total38489TotalAug ’22Total49417TotalJul ’23Total50407TotalJul ’24Total48427TotalAug ’25Total47447TotalJul ’26Total43449TotalAug ’20Rep/Lean Rep126620Rep/Lean RepJan ’22Rep/Lean Rep186217Rep/Lean RepAug ’22Rep/Lean Rep32579Rep/Lean RepJul ’23Rep/Lean Rep32579Rep/Lean RepJul ’24Rep/Lean Rep30599Rep/Lean RepAug ’25Rep/Lean Rep28639Rep/Lean RepJul ’26Rep/Lean Rep196613Rep/Lean RepAug ’20Dem/Lean Dem47474Dem/Lean DemJan ’22Dem/Lean Dem57374Dem/Lean DemAug ’22Dem/Lean Dem67275Dem/Lean DemJul ’23Dem/Lean Dem71244Dem/Lean DemJul ’24Dem/Lean Dem70254Dem/Lean DemAug ’25Dem/Lean Dem69256Dem/Lean DemJul ’26Dem/Lean Dem67275Dem/Lean Dem Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July. 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Views of the Supreme Court’s power More than half of Americans (56%) say the Supreme Court has the right amount of power, while 32% say it has too much power. One-in-ten say the court has too little power. Americans’ views on the Supreme Court’s power are nearly identical to what they were last year. However, the share saying the court has too much power is lower than it was between 2022 and 2024. Among Democrats, 43% say the court has too much power. That’s unchanged from a year ago, but down 19 points from 2024. Republicans continue to be more likely than Democrats to say the court has the right amount of power (71% vs. 44%). Republicans’ views on how much power the court has have changed little in the past few years. Democrats are divided on whether Supreme Court has too much power; most Republicans say it has the right amount % who say the Supreme Court has … Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Democrats are divided on whether Supreme Court has too much power; most Republicans say it has the right amount % who say the Supreme Court has … DateGroupToo much powerRight amount of powerToo little powerAug ’20Total25658Jan ’22Total305811Aug ’22Total45485Jul ’23Total40517Jul ’24Total42506Aug ’25Total32579Jul ’26Total325610Aug ’20Rep/Lean Rep27666Jan ’22Rep/Lean Rep187110Aug ’22Rep/Lean Rep23706Jul ’23Rep/Lean Rep20745Jul ’24Rep/Lean Rep22716Aug ’25Rep/Lean Rep24714Jul ’26Rep/Lean Rep22716Aug ’20Dem/Lean Dem236411Jan ’22Dem/Lean Dem404911Aug ’22Dem/Lean Dem64314Jul ’23Dem/Lean Dem60317Jul ’24Dem/Lean Dem62315Aug ’25Dem/Lean Dem434313Jul ’26Dem/Lean Dem434412 Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Demographic differences in views of the Supreme Court Most Black Americans, adults under 50 view the Supreme Court unfavorably % who say they have a(n) __ opinion of the Supreme Court * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: White, Black and Asian adults include only those who report being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race. “Some college” includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree. No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Most Black Americans, adults under 50 view the Supreme Court unfavorably % who say they have a(n) __ opinion of the Supreme Court GroupNET UnfavorableVery UnfavorableMostly UnfavorableMostly FavorableVery FavorableNET FavorableGroupingTotal53203341445totalMen50203143649genderWomen54193539342genderWhite50193144548raceHispanic55183736542raceBlack67293729231raceAsian*48153345449raceAges 18-2960213934438age30-4955213439443age50-6448173145449age65+48202844650agePostgrad58233537441educationCollege grad54213341445educationSome college56213537441educationHS or less47173045550educationRep/Lean Rep3072362769party repConserv2762165772party repMod/Lib3592658563party repDem/Lean Dem74324222325party demCons/Mod65234230434party demLiberal85434213114party dem * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: White, Black and Asian adults include only those who report being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race. “Some college” includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree. No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER There are only modest gender differences in views of the Supreme Court: 49% of men and 42% of women view it favorably. Two-thirds of Black adults (67%) express an unfavorable opinion of the court. That compares with roughly half of Hispanic (55%), White (50%) and Asian adults (48%). Among adults under 50, a 56% majority views the court unfavorably, while 41% view it favorably. By contrast, half of those 50 and older have a favorable opinion, while 48% have an unfavorable one. Americans with a college degree or more education are also more likely than those without a degree to view the court negatively (56% vs. 51%). Differences in views of the court within each party Among Republicans, older adults view the Supreme Court more favorably % who have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: White, Black and Asian adults include only those who report being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race. “Some college” includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree. Insufficient sample to report on Black Republicans. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Among Republicans, older adults view the Supreme Court more favorably % who have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court GroupTotalRep/Lean RepDem/Lean DemgroupingTotal456925totalMen497024genderWomen426725genderWhite487020raceHispanic426432raceBlack31–27raceAsian*497436raceAges 18-29385922age30-49436327age50-64497522age65+507626agePostgrad418117educationCollege grad457420educationSome college416622educationHS or less506535education * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.Note: White, Black and Asian adults include only those who report being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race. “Some college” includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree. Insufficient sample to report on Black Republicans. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Though few Democrats view the Supreme Court positively, those with lower levels of educational attainment see it more positively than those with greater levels of education do. The opposite is true among Republicans. 29% of Democrats with some college or less education view the court favorably, compared with 19% of Democrats with at least a bachelor’s degree. 77% of Republicans with a bachelor’s degree or more have a favorable opinion of the court, compared with 65% of Republicans without a college degree. In addition, older Republicans continue to view the high court more favorably than younger Republicans do. Three-quarters of Republicans ages 50 and older see the court positively, while 62% of those under 50 say the same. Supreme Court justices and their political views in court We also asked Americans in an August 2025 survey whether they think Supreme Court justices’ political views should be part of their decision-making. Overall, 86% said the justices should not bring their political views into decision-making. Just 12% said they should. In 2025, Democrats were far more likely than Republicans to say justices do a poor job keeping their politics out of court % who said Supreme Court justices … Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 4-10, 2025. PEW RESEARCH CENTER In 2025, Democrats were far more likely than Republicans to say justices do a poor job keeping their politics out of court % who said Supreme Court justices … GroupNET Only fair/PoorPoorOnly fairGoodExcellentNET Excellent/GoodNot sureShould decide based on their own political viewsTotal563125132141612Rep/Lean Rep471532212241612Dem/Lean Dem6949206161212 Note: No answer responses are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 4-10, 2025. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Equal majorities of Democrats and Republicans (87%) said the justices should not bring personal politics into decisions. In addition, 14% of Americans said the justices do an excellent or good job of keeping politics out of decision-making, while 56% said they do an only fair or poor job. Democrats were much more likely than Republicans to say the justices don’t do a good job keeping personal politics out of their decisions: 69% of Democrats said the justices do an only fair or poor job in this respect. Just 6% said they do an excellent or good job. Republicans were more divided: 47% said the justices do an only fair or poor job at this, while 24% said they do an excellent or good job. Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology. This is an update of a post originally published July 21, 2023, by Katy Lin and Carroll Doherty. It was updated previously on Sept. 3, 2025, by Joseph Copeland.