Ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary, 59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.

Americans are also much more pessimistic (44%) than optimistic (28%) when asked to think about what things will be like in the U.S. 50 years from now. Another 27% are neither optimistic nor pessimistic, according to a December 2025 Pew Research Center survey.

About this research

This Pew Research Center analysis explores Americans’ views of the country’s future, including opinions on whether its best years are ahead or in the past.

Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center conducts research to inform the public, journalists and decision-makers.

This research is part of an effort to study public perception on the direction of the U.S. ahead of the 250th anniversary of its founding. It coincides with our analysis about how the U.S. has changed since the country’s bicentennial in 1976.

How did we do this?

We surveyed 3,560 adults from Dec. 8 to 14, 2025. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The surveys represent the views of all U.S. adults.

Here are our survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.

Views on whether the country’s best years are behind or ahead of us differ somewhat across demographic and political groups.

A diverging bar chart showing that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults say America’s best years have passed.

Race and ethnicity: Majorities of Black (66%), Hispanic (64%) and White adults (57%) say the country’s best years are behind us, as do 53% of Asian adults.

Income: Majorities of adults with lower and middle incomes say the country’s best years are behind us (61% each). Upper-income adults are evenly split: Half say the nation’s best years are behind us and half say its best years are still to come.

Party: Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely to say the country’s best years are behind us (64%) rather than ahead (34%). Republicans and Republican leaners are more evenly divided: 53% say the country’s best years are behind us, while 46% say they’re ahead.

How partisan views have changed over time

A diverging bar chart showing that Republicans are feeling better about America’s future than they were in 2014.

Views on this question at least partly reflect the political dynamic of the moment. When we asked this same question in a 2014 telephone survey – when the Democratic Party held the White House and the U.S. Senate – Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say the country’s best years were in the future (57% vs. 32%). Most Republicans (64%) said the country’s best years had passed.

Due to differences in survey methodology, the 2014 findings are not directly comparable to the findings from the December 2025 survey.

Related: The United States at 250: How the Country Has Changed in the Past 50 Years

Are Americans pessimistic or optimistic about the country’s future?

A diverging bar chart showing that Liberal Democrats are most likely to feel pessimistic about what the U.S. will be like in 50 years.

When asked to think about what things will be like in the U.S. 50 years from now, many Americans are downbeat:

  • 44% say they feel very or somewhat pessimistic.
  • 28% feel very or somewhat optimistic.
  • 27% feel neither optimistic nor pessimistic.

On this question, too, Democrats have a more negative view than Republicans. Half of Democrats say they feel pessimistic about the country’s future, compared with 39% of Republicans.

Liberal Democrats have particularly gloomy views: 63% are very or somewhat pessimistic, compared with 41% of moderate and conservative Democrats. Opinions among Republicans don’t vary as much by ideology.

Note: Here are our survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.