Americans Trust Science More Than Most Nations – But the Country Is Deeply Split

When the latest Wellcome Global Monitor rolled out its numbers, one headline jumped out: more than half of Americans claim to have “a lot” of trust in science. That 52% figure is almost twice the global average of 26% and puts the United States at the top of a list that spans 140 countries.

At first glance, it sounds like a triumph for a nation that has been waging a public‑health battle for years. It also aligns with another pleasant surprise – 45% of U.S. respondents said they would get a doctor‑recommended vaccine “right away,” compared with just 28% of Germans.

But the story doesn’t end there. When you dig into the data, the picture becomes more… complicated. The United States isn’t just more trusting; it’s also more divided.

Take religion, for example. Across wealthy nations, the gap between the religious and the non‑religious on the statement “science benefits most people in my country” hovers around five points. In America, that gap swells to a full 24 points.

Urban versus rural residents show a similar split – a 19‑point difference, while other high‑income countries only see about a three‑point gap. And education matters, too: just 47% of adults without a four‑year degree say science benefits most people, versus 71% of college graduates.

The survey, which was fielded by Gallup as part of the Wellcome Foundation’s 2018, 2020 and 2025 waves, combined in‑person, phone and online interviews with more than 140,000 adults worldwide. Its findings were weighted to reflect each nation’s population size.

Why does the U.S. appear so polarized? One clue comes from public‑opinion scholar Matthew Motta, who notes that Americans tend to be “more extreme responders” on surveys. In other words, they’re more likely to pick the far ends of the scale.

That helps explain why 13% of Americans said they would never get a vaccine, compared with 8% of Germans. The rest of the German sample mostly preferred to “think about it” before deciding.

Interestingly, the groups that have traditionally been skeptical are not necessarily moving farther away from science. Religious Americans have actually become a touch more supportive – belief that science benefits most people rose from 46% in 2018 to 50% in 2025. Non‑college‑educated respondents also nudged upward, with a three‑point gain over the same period.

The real driver of the widening gap seems to be a surge in optimism among the already‑privileged: secular, college‑educated, urban dwellers. Their confidence in science grew by double‑digit points – 15% among the non‑religious and 13% among college grads.

So the divide isn’t so much that some Americans are getting colder on science; it’s that a large segment is getting warmer, leaving the rest looking relatively colder by comparison.

That’s both good and unsettling news. On the one hand, it shows that public‑health messaging can resonate, especially with groups that have higher education and less religious affiliation. On the other, the widening chasm underscores how uneven the reach of that messaging remains.

Policymakers and communicators will need to keep that in mind. Tailoring messages to faith communities, rural audiences and those without a four‑year degree could help bridge the trust gap before it widens further.

In short, the United States may be ahead of the world in overall confidence in science, but the country’s internal landscape is a patchwork of hope and hesitation – a reminder that trust is never a monolith.