Pew Research Center: America at 250

ITI NewsBreaks often covers recent surveys and reports from Pew Research Center, whose tagline is, “Numbers, facts and trends shaping your world.” Its About page states, “We generate a foundation of facts that enriches public dialogue and supports sound decision-making. We are nonprofit, nonpartisan and nonadvocacy. We value independence, objectivity, accuracy, rigor, humility, transparency and innovation.”

Pew Research Center’s website has 12 main topic sections, each showcasing the latest research, which is collected in reports, fact sheets, or other formats that extrapolate respondents’ answers to cover the entire U.S. or other population. There is a summary page that includes the methodology for how the information was collected and a link to download and read the full report.

The following are some of the latest reports and other analyses published in 2026 either directly or loosely pertaining to the United States’ 250th birthday, aka America250. Not every topic section is represented, and some analyses overlap sections.

“The United States at 250: How the Country Has Changed in the Past 50 Years” from March 25 is part of multiple topic sections. It examines prominent trends across four areas—demographics, work, family, and economics—since the bicentennial in 1976. Findings include the following:

Over the past five decades, the U.S. population has aged significantly, with the percentage of people 65 and older nearly doubling.
The country has also become more racially and ethnically diverse, as growing shares of people identify as Asian or Hispanic.
Women—who now have far more options outside of the home than they did in 1976—have contributed to a boom in higher education and helped expand the workforce.
And even though many Americans are financially better off than they were 50 years ago, economic gaps have widened.

Politics & Policy

On Feb. 17, “6 Facts About National Pride in the U.S.” took data from a survey of people in 25 nations describing what makes them proud of their country. Findings showed that “the U.S. is the only surveyed country where freedom is the single most frequently mentioned source of pride.” One-in-five Americans said something negative or critical when talking about what makes them proud. Republicans tend to take pride in the current president, the country’s international standing, and the U.S. military, while Democrats tend to take pride in the country’s diversity and multiculturalism. Only 3% of Americans say U.S. history makes them proud.

“A Majority of Americans Say the Country’s Best Years Are Behind Us” from May 15 reveals that “59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.” In addition, Americans are “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,” and “27% are neither optimistic nor pessimistic,” according to a December 2025 survey.

Pew Research Center issued “Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology” on June 10. It reorganizes Americans’ political attitudes into nine groups. “Four groups are highly ideological, politically engaged and overwhelmingly back one party over the other—two on the right and two on the left,” the report summary states. “Americans in the other five groups are more mixed in their political values—and in some cases, much less attentive to politics. Together, these five groups make up a majority of the public.”

On June 12, “On the Country’s 250th Anniversary, the American People Are in a Sour Mood” gathered data from recent Pew Research Center surveys to find that “most people have told us they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States.” Americans have become “less trustful of each other and of institutions including the federal government, both major political parties, the mainstream media, and colleges and universities.” And “[c]ompared with people in other countries, more Americans express gloomy views about how their democracy is working and doubts about whether fellow citizens have good morals.” There is some optimism, however: “Most people say they feel ‘hopeful’ when they think about the future, and 54% say they feel ‘happy’ when they ponder days to come.”

Race & Ethnicity

On March 25, “How Americans View Racial Diversity Ahead of the Country’s 250th Anniversary” stated, “As the United States turns 250, the country’s population is more racially and ethnically diverse than in previous decades. Overall, Americans tend to see that as more of a good thing than a bad thing, according to recent Pew Research Center surveys.” Majorities of both Republicans/Republican-leaners and Democrats/Democrat-leaners “say it’s good that the U.S. population is made up of people of many different races and ethnicities.”

Religion

“In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad” from March 5 had Pew Research Center asking people to rate the morality and ethics of others in their country. “The United States is the only place we surveyed where more adults (ages 18 and older) describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad (53%) than as good (47%),” the report summary notes. Democrats/Democrat-leaners are more likely to say this than Republicans/Republican-leaners, at 60% versus 46%.

On a similar topic, “What Do Americans Consider Immoral?” from March 19 examined attitudes toward various morally debated behaviors. For example, 96% of U.S. adults say eating meat is either morally acceptable or not a moral issue, 91% say that about using contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, 75% have no moral objection to spanking children, and 60% have no objection to homosexuality. In addition, 52% of U.S. adults say viewing pornography is morally wrong, and 47% say this about having an abortion.

Family & Relationships

Pew Research Center studied caregivers in Feb. 26’s “Family Caregiving in an Aging America.” Of all U.S. adults, 10% are a caregiver for a parent age 65 or older, and 3% care for a spouse or partner age 65 or older. Caregiving in this context means regularly helping the person with at least one of these tasks: errands, housework, or repairs; healthcare management (appointments, medication, etc.); financial management (budgeting, paying bills, etc.); and personal care (bathing, dressing, etc.).

Science

On Jan. 15, “Do Americans Think the Country Is Losing or Gaining Ground in Science?” showed that both Republicans and Democrats want to see the U.S. be a world leader in science and, overall, 84% of Americans see government investment in scientific research as worthwhile. About two-thirds of Democrats/Democrat-leaners say the U.S. is not keeping up with other countries’ scientific achievements, while one-third of Republicans/Republican-leaners say this.

“Key Findings About Americans and Mental Health” from May 20 looked at how people describe their mental health: 48% say it’s excellent or very good, 30% say it’s good, and 22% say it’s fair or poor. U.S. adults younger than 30 are more likely than adults 65 and older to say their mental health is fair or poor, at 36% versus 9%. And 49% of U.S. adults put in a little effort toward taking care of their mental health, 36% of U.S. adults put in a lot of effort, and 15% don’t put in any effort.

As revealed by “Americans Are Increasingly Pessimistic About Avoiding the Worst Effects of Climate Change” on May 28, about six-in-ten Americans say that globally, countries aren’t doing enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change. About half of U.S. adults believe tech companies can address climate change, and a majority believe the federal government is doing too little. A majority also think climate change is a very big or a moderately big problem for the U.S.

Internet & Technology

“What We Know About Internet Use, Smartphone Ownership and Digital Divides in the U.S.” from Jan. 8 shows that nine-in-ten U.S. adults use the internet every day, with 41% saying they’re online almost constantly. About eight-in-ten Americans subscribe to broadband at home. When it comes to smartphone ownership, 97% of adults younger than 50 have one, 90% of those ages 50 to 64 have one, and 78% of those age 65 and older have one.

AI is the subject of March 12’s “Key Findings About How Americans View Artificial Intelligence.” Pew Research Center notes, “Half of U.S. adults say the increased use of AI in daily life makes them feel more concerned than excited,” and “U.S. adults are generally concerned about AI’s effect on creativity and relationships but are more open to using it for data analysis.” Teens ages 13–17 most commonly use chatbots to search for information and get help with schoolwork; “[m]ost teens say using chatbots to cheat on schoolwork is common at their school.” Meanwhile, 65% of American workers don’t use AI much or at all in their job.