In the United States, presidential job approval ratings were by George Gallup (estimated to be 1937) to gauge public support for the president of the United States during their term. An approval rating is a percentage determined by polling which indicates the percentage of respondents to an opinion poll who approve of a particular person or program. Typically, an approval rating is given to a politician based on responses to a poll in which a sample of people are asked whether they approve or disapprove of that particular political figure. A question might ask: “Do you approve or disapprove of the way that the current president is handling their job as president?”
Like most surveys that measure opinions, individual poll results may be inaccurate. Many unscientific approval rating systems exist that show inaccurate statistics. Examples that self select, such as online questions are of this type. However, the aggregate approval rating is generally accepted by statisticians, as a statistically valid indicator of the comparative changes in the popular United States mood regarding a president.
President Biden’s approval ratings
| FiveThirtyEight | All polls | 53.4% | 38.8% |
| RealClearPolitics | All polls | 54.6% | 39.9% |
majority approve plurality approve majority disapprove plurality disapprove
| Polling group | Date | Approval | Disapproval | Unsure | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris Interactive (for The Hill) | February 2021 | 61% | 39% | ||
| Rasmussen Reports | February 2021 | 48% | 48% | ||
| Morning Consult | February 2021 | 56% | 31% | ||
| YouGov (for The Economist) | February 2021 | ||||
| Harris Interactive (for The Hill) | February 2021 |
Historical Gallup Polling comparison
| Order | President | Highest approval | Lowest approval | High – Low |
Highest disapproval | Highest margin | Lowest margin | Final poll | Approval average |
Polls per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Biden | 57 (2021-02-04) | 54 (2021-03-18) | 42 (2021-03-18) | 3 | |||||
| 45 | Trump | 49 (2020-01-29, 2020-02-16, 2020-03-22, 2020-04-28, 2020-05-13) | 34 (2021-01-15) | 15 | 62 (2021-01-15) | 4 (2020-03-22) | −28 (2021-01-15) | 34 (2021-01-15) | 41 | 40 |
| 44 | Obama | 67 (2009-01-25) | 40 (2014-09-05) | 27 | 55 (2014-06-22, 2014-10-12) | 56 (2009-01-23, 2009-01-24) | −18 (2014-10-10) | 59 (2017-01-19) | 47.9 | 48.4 |
| 43 | G. W. Bush | 90 (2001-09-21) | 25 (2008-10-05, 2008-10-12, 2008-11-02) | 65 | 71 (2008-10-10) | 83 (2001-09-22) | −46 (2008-10-12) | 34 (2009-01-11) | 49.4 | 33.7 |
| 42 | Clinton | 73 (1998-12-19) | 37 (1993-06-06) | 36 | 54 (1994-09-07) | 45 (2000-12-17) | −14 (1994-09-07) | 66 (2001-01-14) | 55.1 | 28.5 |
| 41 | G. H. W. Bush | 89 (1991-02-28) | 29 (1992-08-02, 1992-10-13) | 60 | 60 (1992-07-31) | 82 (1991-03-03) | −30 (1992-08-02, 1992-10-13) | 56 (1993-01-11) | 60.9 | 39.5 |
| 40 | Reagan | 71 (1986-01-30) | 35 (1983-01-31) | 36 | 56 (1983-01-28) | 52 (1986-01-30) | −21(1983-01-31) | 63 (1988-12-29) | 52.8 | 37.0 |
| 39 | Carter | 74 (1977-03-15) | 28 (1979-06-26, 1979-10-02) | 46 | 59 (1979-06-26) | 66 (1977-03-15) | −31 (1979-06-26) | 34 (1980-12-08) | 45.5 | 22.7 |
| 38 | Ford | 70 (1974-08-13) | 36 (1975-03-25) | 34 | 46 (1975-04-15, 1975-11-18) | 67 (1974-08-13) | −7 (1975-02-25, 1975-03-25, 1975-04-15) | 53 (1976-12-13) | 47.2 | 14.7 |
| 37 | Nixon | 66 (1973-01-23) | 24 (1974-01-02) | 42 | 66 (1974-08-05) | 57 (1969-03-17) | −42 (1974-08-05) | 24 (1974-08-05) | 49.1 | 17.7 |
| 36 | Johnson | 79 (1964-03-05) | 34 (1968-08-12) | 45 | 52 (1968-08-12) | 75 (1963-12-10) | −18 (1968-08-12) | 49 (1969-01-06) | 55.1 | 15.3 |
| 35 | Kennedy | 83 (1962-03-05) | 56 (1963-09-10) | 27 | 30 (1963-09-12, 1963-11-08) | 78 (1962-03-05) | 27 (1963-09-10) | 58 (1963-11-13) | 70.1 | 13.7 |
| 34 | Eisenhower | 77 (1955-11-22, 1956-12-19) | 47 (1958-03-25) | 30 | 36 (1958-03-25) | 66 (1953-04-02, 1956-12-19) | 12 (1958-03-25) | 59 (1960-12-13) | 65.0 | 14.4 |
| 33 | Truman | 87 (1945-06-05) | 22 (1951-11-16, 1952-02-14) | 65 | 67 (1952-01-06) | 85 (1945-08-22) | −43 (1952-01-04) | 32 (1952-12-16) | 45.4 | 8.4 |
| 32 | F. D. Roosevelt | 83 (1942-01-23) | 48 (1939-08-18) | 35 | 46 (1938-05-22, 1938-05-29, 1938-11-07) | 73 (1942-01-23) | 65 (1943-12-15) | 63 | 8 |
Approval at the Beginning of the Presidency
| Order | President | Highest approval | Lowest disapproval |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Biden | 57 (2021-02-04) | 37 (2021-02-04) |
| 45 | Trump | 46 (2017-01-27) | 45 (2017-01-27) |
| 44 | Obama | 67 (2009-01-25) | 13 (2009-01-25) |
| 43 | Bush | 57 (2001-02-05) | 25 (2001-02-05) |
| 42 | Clinton | 58 (1993-01-24) | 20 (1993-01-24) |
| 41 | G. H. W. Bush | 51 (1993-01-26) | 6 (1989-01-26) |
| 40 | Reagan | 51 (1981-02-02) | 13 (1981-02-02) |
| 39 | Carter | 66 (1977-01-07) | 8 (1977-01-07) |
| 38 | Ford | 71 (1974-08-19) | 3 (1974-08-19) |
| 37 | Nixon | 59 (1969) | 5 (1969) |
| 36 | LBJ | 78 (1963) | 2 (1963) |
| 35 | Kennedy | 72 (1961) | 6 (1961) |
| 34 | Eisenhower | 68 (1953) | 7 (1953) |
| 33 | Truman | 87 (1945) | 3 (1945) |
Graphs
- Gallup Poll graphs of approval ratings for presidents of the United States
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Harry S Truman
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
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John F. Kennedy
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Lyndon B. Johnson
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Richard Nixon
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Gerald Ford
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Jimmy Carter
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Ronald Reagan
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George H. W. Bush
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Bill Clinton
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George W. Bush
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Barack Obama
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Donald Trump