Public Faith in College Drops to Record Low

Only about three in 10 Americans now view a college education as very important, marking the lowest percentage since Gallup started asking the question in 1978. Public support has fallen sharply since 2013 when 70 percent of people saw college as very important. An August poll shows that 39 percent of respondents consider a college degree fairly important, while 29 percent feel it is not too important.

Trend Over Time

The drop began in 2019 when 51 percent of Americans chose very important, showing a nearly 20-percentage-point decrease in six years. That figure fell to 35 percent in 2025 and dropped again to 31 percent this year. Every single demographic group now shows lower confidence in higher education compared to 2019. The biggest declines occurred among Democrats with a 22-percentage-point drop and Black respondents with a 25-percentage-point drop.

Demographic Views

Men and Republicans are now the least likely groups to consider a college degree important. Hispanic people remain the most likely to rate college as very important, with 47 percent holding that view. Both college-educated and non-college-educated respondents feel degrees are less important now than in 2019, and the gap between these two groups has widened from three percentage points to eight percentage points.

Context

Public opinion polls over recent years show a steady decline in trust toward higher education across the United States. This trend reflects growing questions about the high cost of tuition and the direct job-market value of a traditional degree. Gallup regularly tracks these shifts to measure how the public views the long-term benefits of schooling beyond high school.