Half of Americans currently hold an unfavorable opinion of the Supreme Court, while roughly as many view the court favorably.
Although opinions of the court have been relatively stable over the last few years, favorable views remain close to a three-decade low, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 4-10, 2025.
Today, the court’s favorable rating is 22 percentage points lower than it was in August 2020, when 70% of Americans had a positive view.
How Democrats and Republicans see the Supreme Court
Just 26% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents view the Supreme Court favorably. That is similar to recent years and one of the lowest favorable ratings of the court from either party in the more than 30 years since the question was first asked.
As recently as 2021 – before the court’s 2022 decision to overturn the federal right to abortion, as well as other controversial rulings – nearly two-thirds of Democrats had a favorable impression of the court.
By contrast, Republicans and GOP leaners are much more likely to view the high court favorably, with 71% holding a positive opinion. Republicans’ opinions of the court have changed much less than Democrats’ views in recent years.
Perceptions of the Supreme Court’s ideology
Nearly half of Americans (47%) view the Supreme Court as conservative, while 44% see it as “middle of the road.” Only 7% describe the court as liberal.
Public perceptions of the Supreme Court’s ideology have not changed much in the past few years. Compared with 2020, however, Americans are much more likely to describe the court as conservative.
Democrats remain more likely than Republicans to view the Supreme Court as conservative:
- 69% of Democrats say this, versus 28% of Republicans.
- 63% of Republicans vs. 25% of Democrats say the court is middle of the road.
- No more than one-in-ten in either party view the court as liberal.
Views of the Supreme Court’s power
More than half of Americans (57%) say the Supreme Court has the right amount of power, while 32% say it has too much power. Just 9% say the court has too little power.
Americans are less likely today than last year to say the court has too much power.
This change is entirely driven by Democrats: 43% say the court has too much power – down from 62% last year. However, the share of Democrats who say the court has too much power remains much higher than it was five years ago.
Republicans continue to be more likely than Democrats to say the court has the right amount of power (71% say this vs. 43% of Democrats).
Demographic differences in views of the Supreme Court
There are only modest gender differences in views of the Supreme Court – 50% of men and 46% of women view it favorably.
Around six-in-ten Black adults (63%) express an unfavorable opinion of the court, compared with roughly half of Hispanic (50%), White (48%) and Asian adults (46%).
A majority of adults under 50 have an unfavorable view of the court (55% view it unfavorably, 42% favorably). By contrast, among those 50 and older, a majority express a favorable opinion (54% favorable vs. 44% favorable).
Those with a college degree or more education are more likely than those without a degree to view the court negatively: 56% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher have an unfavorable view, compared with 47% of those without a bachelor’s degree.
Within-party differences in views of the court
Democrats with lower levels of educational attainment view the Supreme Court more positively than those with more education. About a third of Democrats with some college or less education (32%) view the court favorably, compared with just 16% of Democrats with at least a bachelor’s degree.
The opposite is true among Republicans. About three-quarters of Republicans with a postgraduate degree (77%) have a favorable opinion of the court. A smaller share of Republicans with a high school diploma or less education (67%) share this view.
Older Republicans continue to view the high court more favorably than younger Republicans do. Eight-in-ten Republicans ages 50 and older see the court positively, while 62% under 50 say the same.
Supreme Court justices and their political views in court
When it comes to Supreme Court justices keeping their political views out of their decision-making, 14% of Americans say the justices are doing an excellent or good job of this, while 56% say they are doing an only fair or poor job.
Democrats continue to be much more likely than Republicans to say the justices are not doing a good job keeping their personal politics out of their decisions.
About seven-in-ten Democrats (69%) say the justices are doing an only fair or poor job in this respect, while just 6% say they are doing an excellent or good job.
Republicans are more divided in these assessments: 24% say the justices are doing an excellent or good job keeping their political opinions separate, while 47% say they are doing an only fair or poor job.
Overall, 86% of Americans say the justices should not bring their political views into decision-making; just 12% say they should. Equal majorities of Democrats and Republicans (87% each) say the justices should not bring personal politics into decisions.
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology. This is an update of a post originally published July 21, 2023, by Katy Lin and Carroll Doherty.