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 from 2025. Not every topic section is represented; some reports overlap topics.

Here are NewsBreaks’ other roundups of Pew Research Center’s research: October 2017 | March 2018 | October 2018 | March 2019 | October 2019 | March 2020 | December 2020 | June 2021 | December 2021 | July 2022 | March 2023 | September 2023 | January 2024 | October 2024

Politics & Policy

On March 7, Pew Research Center published “The Changing Face of Congress in 7 Charts.” It shares the following demographic facts:

• The 119th Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse on record. … Overall, 139 voting members of the Senate and House of Representatives identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian American or Native American.
• The share of women in Congress has increased considerably over the long term but hasn’t changed since the last Congress. Women made up 28% of voting members in Congress as of Jan. 3, including 29% in the House and 25% in the Senate.
• The 119th Congress includes the first openly transgender member in history. Rep. Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, is one of 13 members who are openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ)—the same number as in the previous Congress.
• The 119th Congress is slightly younger than the last Congress,with more Millennials and Gen Xers. The median age of voting members of the House of Representatives is 57.5 years. … The median age of the new Senate is 64.7 years. …
• Veterans have a far smaller presence in Congress than in past decades, but their numbers have increased slightly in the 119th Congress. There were 100 veterans in Congress as of Jan. 3, up from 97 in the 118th Congress. …
• The share of immigrants in Congress has ticked up but remains below historical highs.There are at least 19 foreign-born lawmakers in the 119th Congress, including two in the Senate and 17 in the House.
• While most members of Congress are Christian, their numbers have declined. Across the House and Senate, 87% of the voting members seated on Congress’ opening day—461 out of 532—are Christian.

A report from Feb. 20, “Americans Continue to View Several Economic Issues as Top National Problems,” explores what majorities of U.S. adults are calling “very big” problems for the country: 63% say inflation, 67% say healthcare affordability, 57% say the federal deficit, 56% say the lack of bipartisan cooperation, 53% say the number of Americans living in poverty, and 51% say drug addiction. Fifty percent call “the state of moral values” a very big problem.

Race & Ethnicity

A short read from Feb. 12, “A Look at Black-Owned Businesses in the U.S.,” states, “While Black-owned businesses have grown significantly in the U.S. in recent years, they still make up a small share of overall firms and revenue, according to our analysis of federal data.” In 2022, there were more than 194,000 U.S. firms with majority Black or African American ownership that made a gross revenue of nearly $212 billion. However, “majority Black-owned businesses made up only about 3% of all U.S. firms in 2022 that were classifiable by the race and ethnicity of their owners. And they accounted for just 1% of gross revenue from all classifiable companies that year.” Pew Research Center looks at the demographics of Black-owned business owners: They’re more likely to be men than women, they’re often middle-aged, and a majority has a 4-year college degree or higher. Ninety percent of Black-owned businesses are in urban areas.

On Jan. 23, Pew Research Center issued a fact sheet, “Facts About the U.S. Black Population,” which offers statistics on Black Americans that are presented through the lens of four different groups: the total U.S. Black population; single-race, non-Hispanic Black people; multiracial, non-Hispanic Black people; and Black Hispanic people. “In 2023, an estimated 48.3 million people self-identified as Black, making up 14.4% of the country’s population,” Pew Research Center states. The four groups are examined with regard to the following:

• Population growth—“The Black population has grown by more than 12 million since 2000, up from 36.2 million. …”
• Age structure—“The median age of Black people in 2023 was 32.6 years, about six years younger than the U.S. population’s median age of 38.2.”
• Languages—“The vast majority (96%) of the Black population as of 2023 either speaks only English (88%) or speaks another language at home. …”
• Geography—“More than half of the U.S. Black population (56%) lives in the South as of 2023. Another 17% each live in the Midwest and Northeast, and 10% live in the West.”
• Household income—“Median household income in 2023 for households headed by a Black person was $54,000. …”
• Household type—“About four-in-ten Black people in the U.S. (39%) live in households that are headed by married couples as of 2023.”
• Educational attainment—“About a quarter (27%) of all Black U.S. adults ages 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more education. …”

Religion

Pew Research Center embarked on its third Religious Landscape Study (RLS), which “paints a religious portrait of the United States. With more than 36,000 respondents in 2023[–20]24, it is the largest single survey Pew Research Center conducts, allowing us to examine the religious identities, beliefs and practices of U.S. adults. The study provides nationwide data as well as information on every state, the District of Columbia, and 34 large metro areas,” the organization shares. It was previously conducted in 2007 and 2014; this year’s findings report was published on Feb. 26. The RLS’s interactive database allows users to explore religious data by metro area, state ,or region using a U.S. map and to compare and contrast religious groups with regard to demographics (age, gender, education, etc.), Beliefs & Practices (prayer frequency, religious attendance, etc.), and Social & Political Views (political party and political ideology).

Age & Generations

A March 13 report, “The Gender Gap in Teen Experiences,” finds that “while there is some common ground, many of the problems and pressure points teens are dealing with differ significantly for boys and girls. In addition, many teens see imbalances in how boys and girls are experiencing school and how they’re performing academically.” The surveyed teens (ages 13–17) say anxiety and depression are at the top of the list of problems their age group deals with and that these mental health issues are more common among girls than boys. When it comes to doing well academically, 71% of girls and 65% of boys say they “feel a great deal or fair amount of pressure to get good grades.” Girls are also more likely than boys to say they face “at least a fair amount of pressure” about their appearance (55% of girls versus 33% of boys) and to fit in socially (45% of girls versus 37% of boys). Boys face more pressure to be physically strong (43% of boys say this, versus 23% of girls) and to be good at sports (36% of boys versus 27% of girls).

A March 13 short read, “U.S. Adults Differ in How Much They Say Certain Things Should Be Emphasized for Boys and Girls,” focused on adults’ perceptions of how to treat teens: 57% say there’s not enough emphasis on encouraging boys to talk about their feelings when they’re sad or upset, and 43% say there needs to be more emphasis on encouraging them to do well in school. Forty-one percent say there’s not enough focus on encouraging girls to stand up for themselves.

Gender & LGBTQ

“Gender Pay Gap in U.S. Has Narrowed Slightly Over 2 Decades” from March 4 shows that in 2024, women earned an average of 85% of what men earned. “As has long been the case, the wage gap is smaller for workers ages 25 to 34 than for all workers 16 and older. In 2024, women 25 to 34 earned an average of 95 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same age group,” Pew Research Center notes. “The estimated 15-cent gender pay gap among all workers in 2024 was down from 35 cents in 1982. And the 5-cent gap among workers ages 25 to 34 in 2024 was down from a 26-cent gap.” In addition, “women as a whole continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying occupations relative to their share of the workforce. This may contribute to gender differences in pay.” Pew Research Center acknowledges that there are other factors that may contribute, including gender discrimination.

A report from Jan. 16, “Men, Women and Social Connections,” is an exploration of loneliness in the U.S. It finds that “compared with women, men don’t report that they feel lonely more often or have fewer close friends. However, men do seem to turn to their networks less often for social connection and emotional support.” Overall, 16% of Americans feel lonely or isolated “all or most of the time,” 38% say they feel lonely “sometimes,” and 47% say it’s “hardly ever or never.” These percentages are about the same for men and women, but adults younger than 50 are more likely to be lonely “often” than those older than 50. Here are the people adults turn to when they need emotional support: their mother (54% of women, 42% of men), a friend (54% of women, 38% of men), another family member who is not a parent or romantic partner (44% of women, 26% of men), and a mental health professional (22% of women, 16% of men).

Economy & Work

A Feb. 25 report, “U.S. Workers Are More Worried Than Hopeful About Future AI Use in the Workplace,” highlights that 52% of workers are worried about the future impact AI will have on the workplace, and 33% say they feel overwhelmed by the idea of AI. However, 36% feel hopeful about how AI might be used. Only 16% currently do at least some of their work using AI. Workers in the information and technology fields, along with those in banking, finance, accounting, real estate, and insurance tend to be the most likely to think AI will lead to more job opportunities for them in the future.

On Jan. 9, “Economic Inequality Seen as Major Challenge Around the World” shared the results of a spring 2024 survey of 36 nations. It uses a median to represent responses—i.e., “the middle number in a list of all percentages sorted from highest to lowest.” Findings include the following:

• A median of 54% of adults across all nations surveyed call the gap between the rich and the poor a very big problem in their country.
• A median of 60% think that the rich having too much influence on politics contributes a great deal toward this gap.
• A median of 57% say children in their country will be worse off financially than their parents.

Science

“5 Years Later: America Looks Back at the Impact of COVID-19” from Feb. 12 explores how 72% of U.S. adults say the COVID-19 pandemic “did more to drive the country apart than to bring it together.” Pew Research Center shares, “Fundamental differences arose between Americans over what we expect from our government, how much tolerance we have for health risks, and which groups and sectors to prioritize in a pandemic. Many of these divides continue to play out in the nation’s politics today.” More than 1 million Americans died from the virus, and millions are still affected by long COVID. Now, 56% of U.S. adults say the virus is “no longer something we really need to worry about much.” Only 4% regularly wear a mask, and less than 50% didn’t get last fall’s updated vaccine.

A Jan. 29 short read, “4 Facts About Americans’ Views of the World Health Organization,” was a response to the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). It shows the following:

• More than half of Americans believe the U.S. benefits from its membership in the WHO. As of April 2024, 25% of U.S. adults say the country benefits a great deal from its membership, while about one-third say it benefits a fair amount.
• The benefits of WHO membership are less evident to Americans now than during the coronavirus pandemic. The share who say the U.S. benefits a great deal or a fair amount decreased significantly between 2021 and 2024.
• Democrats are roughly twice as likely as Republicans to see benefits in WHO membership. While about eight-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say the U.S. benefits from being part of the WHO, just 38% of Republicans and Republican leaners agree.
• In 2021, Americans were mostly pleased with how the WHO was handling the coronavirus pandemic. A 55% majority said the organization was doing a good job, and 42% said it was doing a bad job.

Internet & Technology

On Feb. 19, Pew Research Center discussed the topic of news influencers—“people with large followings on social media who regularly post about news or politics”—in “No Consensus on Who Comes to Mind When Americans Are Asked to Name a News Influencer.” The organization states that 21% of U.S. adults regularly get their news from them, and “because the idea of ‘news influencers’ is relatively new, we also wanted to know who Americans are thinking of when they hear the term. So in an open-ended question, we asked U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from news influencers to name the first one who comes to mind for them.” Names that came up most often were Philip DeFranco (The Philip DeFranco Show), Tucker Carlson (The Tucker Carlson Show), Ben Shapiro (The Ben Shapiro Show), V Spehar (Under the Desk News), and Carlos Eduardo Espina (eponymous YouTube and TikTok accounts).