Most Americans express confidence in their ability to do various practical tasks, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. The survey asked Americans if they felt they could do each of 12 activities, ranging from everyday household tasks to ones that require more technical knowledge.

Pew Research Center conducted this survey to understand Americans’ confidence in their ability to perform certain practical tasks based on skills they already have.

For this analysis, we surveyed 5,085 U.S. adults from April 28 to May 4, 2025. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.