How Nurses, Doctors Rank in Gallup’s Poll of Most Trusted Professions

Nurses once again earned the top spot as the most trusted profession in America, with pharmacists and physicians ranking fourth and fifth on Gallup’s annual Most Honest and Ethical Professions Poll.

Of those surveyed, 76% rated nurses as having “high” or “very high” ethical standards. Grade-school teachers ranked second, with 61% of respondents saying they have high or very high ethical standards, followed by military officers (59%), pharmacists (57%), and physicians (53%).

“For 23 years running, the American public continues to trust nurses not only as the most honest and ethical within healthcare, but across industries and professions,” said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, president of the American Nurses Association, in a press release.

“This acknowledgement is an undeniable reflection of the positive impact nurses have on the patients they diligently care for and on the healthcare system they support,” Mensik Kennedy said. “What nurses do every day is nothing short of incredible. As the representative of the interests of [the] nation’s more than 5 million nurses, I give my word that we will continue to vigorously advocate for meaningful policies and solutions to the issues that inhibit a healthy workplace culture and quality patient care delivery throughout 2025 and beyond.”

Nancy Hagans, RN, the president of National Nurses United, also weighed in, noting that “nurses are incredibly honored that the sacred bond of trust we have with our patients has once again been recognized in the Gallup poll.”

“Especially during these uncertain times, our patients know we will always be there to advocate for them, whether that means standing up to our employers’ corporate greed and demanding safe patient care conditions in our workplaces — or speaking up at the highest levels of power on issues that impact public health and safety,” she said. “Year after year, nurses will always fight to ensure our patients come first.”

Polling for this survey was conducted from Dec. 2-18, 2024. Gallup first began surveying the public on trust in different professions in 1976, looking at 14 different occupations. Beginning in 1999, however, it tracked 11 core professions annually — nurses, pharmacists, medical doctors, police officers, clergy, bankers, lawyers, business executives, members of Congress, advertising practitioners, and car salespeople — with others being included every several years.

Nurses, who were first included in Gallup’s annual survey in 1999, have taken the top spot every year since, except 2001, when firefighters (included in that year only) had a record-breaking 90% following the 9/11 attacks, the polling company noted.

Looking at the bigger picture, the average “very high/high” ratings for the 11 core professions fell from roughly 40% or higher in the early 2000s to around 35% in the 2010s, before inching up to a 7-year high of 38% in 2020 — primarily due to increased trust in healthcare workers and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, the average has fallen every year, hitting 30% in 2023 and staying flat in 2024 — reflecting “the long-term decline in Americans’ confidence in U.S. institutions,” Gallup suggested.

These 2 years in particular saw lower scores for a handful of professions including physicians, for whom trust has now diminished by 14 percentage points since 2021.

“After reaching a historical high of 77% in 2020, physicians’ ethics rating not only returned to its 2019/pre-pandemic level of 65% but, at 53%, is now the lowest since the mid-1990s,” the polling company said.

Even at number one, nurses’ ratings of “very high/high” have declined from a record 89% in 2020.

Additionally, pharmacists, day care providers, and nursing home operators — all professions that celebrated high marks during the first year or two of the pandemic — saw their ratings dip below their pre-pandemic averages to 57%, 42%, and 21%, respectively.

Ratings for clergy have declined the most of any profession since the polling company began rating all 23 professions in the early 2000s, with a 26-percentage point drop. The second greatest decline was for judges, who experienced a 21-percentage point plunge since the early 2000s.

“The high court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, as well as various legal cases against Donald Trump since 2020, could explain declines in these ratings by both major parties,” Gallup noted.

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