Data isn’t just numbers—it’s the pulse of society. Whether you’re in policy, business, or simply curious, these trends shape decisions. Welcome to Front Page, where we break down Gallup’s latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the five insights you shouldn’t miss this week:
1. Presidential Starting Points: The Economy
The Data: Forty-four percent of Americans in April express confidence in President Donald Trump’s economic leadership — slightly lower than his inaugural reading in 2017 (48%) but close to his first-term average of 46%.
The Trend: Gallup has tracked economic confidence in presidents annually since 2001. All presidents but Trump began their terms above 50%, including Barack Obama at 71%. The highest economic confidence rating recorded was George W. Bush’s 73% in April 2002 (after 9/11). The lowest ratings were 34% for Bush and 35% for Joe Biden closer to the end of their terms.
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2. Faith Finds a Plateau in U.S.
The Data: Religious identification among Americans has plateaued after two decades of general decline. On average, in 2024, 45% identified as Protestant, 21% as Catholic, 10% as another religion and 22% as none — all stable since 2018.
The Trend: The religious “nones” surged in the 2000s and 2010s, but recent years mark a leveling-off of secularization.
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3. Bullish and Bearish
The Data: Several measures of Americans’ economic mood, including their perceptions of the U.S. economy and their own finances, have weakened in April compared with their January reading — in some cases, substantially.
The Stock Market: Americans’ belief that the stock market will rise over the next six months has dissipated an unprecedented amount since Trump took office. Confidence that the market will go up fell from a record-high 61% in January to 29% in April, tying with October 2005 and July 2002 as the record low. Expectations for economic growth track with this sentiment, while consumers’ hopeful outlooks for inflation, interest rates and unemployment have changed less.
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4. Climate Fears Heating Up
The Data: A record-high 48% of Americans now see global warming as posing a serious threat to themselves or their way of life, up from 44% in 2024 and just 25% in 1997.
Effects Have Begun: In response to a question asking when the effects of global warming will begin to happen (with options including: they have already begun to happen; they will start happening within a few years; they will start happening within your lifetime; they will not happen within your lifetime, but they will affect future generations; they will never happen), 63% now say the effects of climate change have already begun, essentially tying the high of 62% in 2017.
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5. In Rich Countries, Housing Contentment in Short Supply
The Data: Just over four in 10 residents of OECD countries (43%) say they’re satisfied with the availability of good, affordable housing where they live — trailing the global median of 50%.
Affordability vs. Struggling: While those living in OECD countries report dissatisfaction with good, affordable housing, this doesn’t mean they can’t afford shelter. A separate question finds that just 11% of adults in OECD countries report they have struggled to afford shelter — far lower than the average 38% elsewhere.
SOURCE – GALLUP
