Lawmakers among least-honest professions, Americans say in poll. What else made list?
.jpg "A large majority of Americans believe members of Congress have low ethical standards, according to new polling. They rank along lobbyists and television reporters.")
Members of Congress are among the least-trusted professions in the U.S., while pharmacists and teachers are among the highest, according to new polling.
The latest Gallup poll — conducted Dec. 2-18 — asked 1,003 American adults to rank about two dozen professions in terms of their perceived ethical and honesty standards.
Here is a breakdown of the results, which were largely in line with other polls conducted during the past 20 years.
Least-trusted professions
Lobbyists had the unenviable distinction of being the least-trusted profession of those surveyed. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they had low ethical and honesty standards, while just 4% said they had high standards.
Members of Congress came in second, with 68% saying they had low standards and 8% saying they had high standards, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Placing just above lawmakers were television reporters. Just over half of respondents, 55%, said they had low ethical and honesty standards, while just 13% said they had lofty standards.
Middle of the pack
Advertisers, car salespeople and business executives placed near the bottom, with 50%, 47% and 43% of respondents saying they had low standards.
Coming in above them, but still with net negative ratings: state officeholders, newspaper reporters, lawyers, nursing home operators, local officeholders and bankers.
Judges were the first to break into net positive territory, with 28% of respondents saying they had high standards and 26% saying they had low standards.
Ranking above judges: clergy, auto mechanics, police officers, funeral directors and day care providers.
Most-trusted professions
Nurses were, by far, the most-trusted profession, with 76% of respondents saying they held high honesty and ethical standards. Just 4% said they had low standards.
Following them were grade school teachers. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they had high standards, compared to 11% who said they had low standards.
Military officers, pharmacists and medical doctors came next — with 59%, 57% and 53% of respondents, respectively, saying they had high standards.
Broader trends
Public trust in most of the surveyed professions has decreased in recent decades, according to Gallup.
Despite this, the order they’re ranked in has remained relatively unchanged. Nurses tend to be the most trusted, with grade-school teachers, pharmacists, military officers and medical doctors not far behind. And lawmakers, advertisers, lobbyists and automobile salespeople are typically at the bottom.
Notably, there has been some movement among the middle of the pack. Television reporters, judges and clergy have fallen several places, while auto mechanics have moved up.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 10:33 AM with the headline "Lawmakers among least-honest professions, Americans say in poll. What else made list?."