Ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary, 59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.

Americans are also 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. Another 27% are neither optimistic nor pessimistic, according to a December 2025 Pew Research Center survey.

We surveyed 3,560 adults from Dec. 8 to 14, 2025. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The surveys represent the views of all U.S. adults.

Here are our survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.