Publications

Fewer than four-in-ten Americans can say which house of Congress is controlled by the GOP.

Far more young adults are able to identify the founder of Facebook (63%) than name the speaker of the House (21%).

Just one-in-ten Americans have a positive reaction when they see the Confederate flag displayed.

By a 48%-to-38% margin, more Americans say states’ rights rather than slavery was the main cause of the Civil War.

By a large margin, most adults who rent would like to one day purchase a home (81%) rather than continue to rent (17%).

An overwhelming 81% of Americans say that purchasing a home is the best long-term investment a person can make.

Support for democracy is high throughout much of the Middle East, but the Arab Spring has not led to an improvement in America’s image in the region. Instead, in key Arab nations and in other predominantly Muslim countries, views of the U.S. remain negative. On balance, extremist groups also viewed negatively, although they receive significant levels of support in some countries.

A new Pew Research Center analysis, using Census Bureau data, estimates that the typical adult with a bachelor’s degree (but no further education) will earn $1.42 million over a 40-year career, compared with $770,000 for a typical high school graduate.

Senior research staff answer questions from readers relating to all the areas covered by our seven projects, ranging from polling techniques and findings, to media, technology, religious, demographic and global attitudes trends.