There was a large swing to Trump among white voters who had low levels of social trust — a group that researchers have found is also less likely to participate in telephone surveys. Continue Reading →

Blog November 23, 2020

The Benefits of Going to a Place “Where Everyone Knows Your Name”

Daniel A. Cox, Jacqueline Clemence

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these community spaces look a little different right now. Coffee shops, restaurants, and parks have more importance than ever in connecting us to our community and to the world outside our homes. Continue Reading →

In The News November 23, 2020

Trumpism is more about culture than economics

Ryan Streeter

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For those of us interested in understanding the world, polling offers an incredibly useful and cost-effective tool. It’s critical that we get it right. Continue Reading →

Survey report November 18, 2020

Hopes and Challenges For Community and Civic Life: Perspectives From the Nation and Indiana

Daniel A. Cox, Karlyn Bowman, Jacqueline Clemence

The coronavirus outbreak created tensions between urban Americans hit hard by the virus and small towns and rural communities. Despite these disparities, surveys find that, before COVID-19, Americans expressed many of the same ideas and priorities regarding their communities, revealing we may not be as divided as one might think. Continue Reading →

Blog November 13, 2020

Biden’s Message of Unity is Welcomed by Most Americans

Samuel J. Abrams

Biden’s desire to move past the divisiveness that has marked the Trump presidency, the question that follows is simple: Are Americans actually open to working with others and trying to find the middle ground? Continue Reading →

Blog November 9, 2020

The 2020 Election Was Not Primarily About Trump As a Person

Samuel J. Abrams

Biden will have the challenge of finding common ground with all Americans, but Biden already took the right steps when he declared in his acceptance speech that “It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.” Continue Reading →

Blog November 6, 2020

The 2020 Religion Vote

Daniel A. Cox

Religious voters lined up behind their preferred candidates in familiar ways in the 2020 presidential election, but there were some notable shifts. Continue Reading →

In The News November 3, 2020

This election could transform the future for evangelical Americans

Ryan Streeter

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In The News November 2, 2020

The one pollster in America who is sure Trump is going to win

Giovanni Russonello, Sarah Lyall

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Survey Reports

Daniel A. Cox
July 23, 2026

A Digital Divide in American Adolescence: Gender, Class, and the New Teenage Experience

If teenage years once represented a time of rebellion, teenagers’ lives today are marked less by pushing boundaries and more by building their own. Many teenage experiences are less common than they once were—dating, working a part-time job, and experimenting with drugs and alcohol are less common experiences. The 2026 American Teenagers Survey from the Continue Reading →

Daniel A. Cox, Jae Grace, Avery Shields
April 27, 2026

Strangers Next Door: The Decline of Neighborhood Socializing and the Class Divide in Belonging

Acknowledgment The American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life is grateful to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for its generous support of this research. As Americans spend more of their time online, the neighborhood—once a primary physical location for real-world socialization—is playing less of a central role than ever before. Since Continue Reading →

Daniel A. Cox, Kelsey Eyre Hammond
November 20, 2025

Individuality and Moral Behavior: A Generational Divide in Moral Judgments and Self-Expression

Younger and older Americans increasingly disagree on the morality of certain behaviors, reflecting deep shifts in views about individuality, self-expression, and the role of community and faith. Continue Reading →

Daniel A. Cox
July 2, 2025

America’s Cultural Crossroads: Enduring Discontent, Rising Disconnection, and an Uncertain Future

A new survey from the Survey Center on American Life shows Americans are changing course on major cultural issues—from immigration and gay rights to gender roles and public trust. Continue Reading →