Latest Gallup Poll Rates Nurses Highest as Most Trusted Again

In the latest Gallup Poll released January 10, 2025,nurses once again were rated highest above other healthcare professionals. Nurses were ranked at 76% while pharmacists were ranked at 57% and doctors received a ranking of 53% on honesty and ethical standards.

Three in four Americans consider nurses highly honest and ethical, making them the most trusted of 23 professions rated in Gallup’s annual measurement. Grade-school teachers rank second, with 61% viewing them highly, while military officers, pharmacists and medical doctors also earn high trust from majorities of Americans. The least trusted professions, with more than half of U.S. adults saying their ethics are low or very low, are lobbyists, members of Congress and television reporters.

Of the remaining occupations measured in a poll fielded from December 2 to 18, 2024, six professions — including police officers, clergy and judges — are viewed more positively than negatively by Americans, although positive ratings did not reach the majority level. The other nine occupations, including bankers, lawyers and business executives, are seen more negatively than positively.

Nurses have earned the highest rating in every year but one since Gallup added them to the annual survey in 1999. The exception was 2001, when firefighters, who were included only in that year, earned a record 90% trust rating after their heroism in responding to the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City. OSM