Ups and Downs in U.S. Satisfaction

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

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The voice of the world in numbers

July 8, 2025

Welcome to Front Page, where we break down Gallup's latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the five insights you shouldn't miss this week:

1. Ups and Downs in U.S. Satisfaction

Line Chart: Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S.

The Data: In June, 31% of Americans said they were satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., down from 38% in May. Gallup has tracked this measure since 1979. Over that time, satisfaction has ranged from a high of 71% in 1999 to a low of 7% in 2008, a 64-percentage-point span.

Recent Context: The latest reading preceded U.S. military airstrikes in Iran and came as President Donald Trump's job approval rating stood at 40%, the lowest to date of his second term. Views on the economy, however, showed modest improvement.

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2. Family Matters

Heat Map: Top five values among all Americans, ranked by age group.

The Data: Forty-nine percent of U.S. adults name family as one of their three most important values, followed by freedom (30%), health (27%), integrity (27%) and faith (26%). There is variation in what Americans see as most important by political party, age and educational attainment.

By Age: Older adults (aged 65 and older) are more likely than those under 30 to prioritize freedom (40% vs. 20%, respectively) and health (34% vs. 20%). Valuing faith is also more prevalent with age.

Line Chart: Summary of Americans' views on legality and morality of abortion.

The Data: In 2025, 49% of Americans say abortion is morally acceptable, matching the percentage saying it should be legal in all or most circumstances.

Post-Dobbs Shift: Support for abortion being broadly legal surpassed opposition after the Dobbs leak in 2022. Since then, elevated support has been driven largely by women, whose views on both its morality and legality have diverged from men's. These gender gaps, now the widest since 2022, contrast with the previous two decades when women's and men's attitudes were more closely aligned.

The Data: Forty percent of U.S. women aged 18 to 29 identified as liberal or very liberal in 2017-2024, up from 32% in 2008-2016 and 28% in the early 2000s.

Widening Gender Gap: Young women's liberal identification now exceeds that of young men by 15 points, the largest gap recorded in the trend. No comparable increase occurred among older women or men in any age group.

Stacked Bar Chart: 1939: Americans' views on summer clothing.

The Data: In 1939, almost two-thirds of Americans thought it was indecent for women to wear shorts in public, while a third said topless bathing suits were indecent for men.

Cultural Snapshot: In the same year that Americans flocked to see women in hoop skirts and petticoats in Gone With the Wind and Dorothy walked the yellow brick road in a gingham dress, women were more opposed to women wearing shorts than men were (70% vs. 57%).

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